'That's the last one for today,' Jake thought as he exited the Dungeon, rubbing the back of his neck. Making his way to the truck parked nearby, he tossed his bag into the truck's bed before climbing in with it. Smacking the side of the vehicle, he heard the engine roar to life as the vehicle began to make its way out of the area. As he watched his surroundings change, he began to look back at the past week.

After his first day in this world, he had decided to set up a type of routine. Every day, he would go and complete a few Dungeons he found at the bar. They were low-ranking ones, which gave decent payouts, but not much else otherwise. It was the basic leveling loop that he was pretty familiar with, just as an actual activity.

Turning his gaze away from the passing scenery, he pulled out the sword he took from the bandits. Still covered in the Lacerifo War Chief's blood, various scars and cuts ran along the blade's body. Cracks ran along its edge, the somewhat sharp edge giving way to complete dullness.

'So, a Mass Print Weapon can hold their own in Dungeons. Still, unsurprising that it ended up like this.'

Guess an upgrade is in order.

After a while, the truck arrived at the vehicle depot, driving into one of the empty spots. Once he heard the engine go silent, he grabbed his bag before hopping out of the truck bed. As the driver stepped out of the vehicle, Jake clapped his hands together. Flinching at the noise, they snapped their attention towards him, the silent 'why?' hanging in the air.

"Needed to remind you I was here," Jake answered, slinging his bag over his shoulder. The driver furrowed their brow at his words, as if told that the sky was magenta instead of blue. In response, Jake gave them a small shrug. "I didn't feel like firing a gun at someone."

"...Thanks, I guess," the driver responded, having decided to shut the lid on the conversation. With that, the two of them made their way out of the depot and into Northwater's backstreets. As the duo traveled in and out of the city's alleyways and side roads, they eventually arrived at the bar's back door. Stopping in front of the door, the driver turned to face him, crossing their arms. "Give me your bag and I'll get you your payment."

Taking off his backpack, Jake tossed the bag next to the driver's foot. Letting out a small scoff, they took the backpack off the ground before entering the bar. Now standing alone in the alley next to the bar, he leaned against the wall before pulling out his phone. As he searched through the listed blacksmiths or workshops, one of them caught his eye.

'Hm, 'Steel Arsenal' seems good enough. Short bus ride, too.'

Marking the place on his map, he placed his device in his pocket as the door opened. The driver stepped out into the alley, holding both his backpack and a familiar envelope. Walking up to him, they then shoved both items into his grasp before stepping back. Bouncing his backpack in his palm, he tossed it over his shoulder before opening the letter. In it sat a mix of both Macre chips and cards that added up to the listed amount.

"I hope you have a good day," the driver said, giving him a smile that didn't reach their eyes. Regardless, he gave them a small nod before pocketing the envelope and leaving the alley. Once onto the sidewalk, he pulled up his hood before pulling out his device. Following the directions listed, he arrived at a nearby bus stop. He slid himself into the small crowd, waiting alongside students, workers, and Hunters. Once the bus arrived, he climbed onto the vehicle before picking out a seat in the back. As soon as everyone was secure, the bus lurched forward as it made its way into the main road. Watching the city pass by the window, he closed his eyes as he began to listen in on the other riders.

"...this test is going to fucking kill me, dude..."

Not important.

"...Yeah, there's a really cool ramen shop near my place..."

Also not important.

"I got us tickets to the Crimson Troupe arena..."

That could be something useful.

Closing his eyes, he began to focus his hearing on that particular conversation. One by one, the other riders became quieter, as if someone was lowering the volume of a phone. As he listened into that conversation, there were three things that he learned:

1.) There is a well known underground blood-sport scene in the city. While unsurprising, it didn't seem like something spoken about in whispers. Rather than the shadowy brawls in a cellar he heard of, it seemed to be akin to a minor local event. Something that, while known about, isn't something that pings on most people's radar.

2.) The ones who are the hosts of these events was an organization known as the 'Crimson Troupe'. While still a criminal enterprise, they seemed to be one of the groups to have some amount of public support.

3.) The event happens weekly in an underground part of an area called 'Little Opulenca'. According to them, the way to enter into the main arena changes weekly, but stays within the area. Otherwise, they stream the matches in the building themselves, allowing others to watch.

'Could make use of this, somehow.'

Filing it away in his mind, he felt his H-cell vibrate in his pocket. Pulling out his device, he saw a notification that his stop was nearby. Shortly after reading that message, he felt the bus come to a stop, the doors opening with a shallow hiss. Getting up from his seat, he made his way out of the bus, stepping out to a cacophony of noise. Drones went from building to building, both dropping off and taking various crates. As the machines made their routes by either wheel or rotor, crowds of people flooded the main street. Some looked to be hobbyists, intent on gathering both equipment and material. Others, meanwhile, seemed to be active members of their trade, assured intent clear as day.

'So, this is Ember Alley. Not quite the same as the Novaforge district, but generally similar vibes.'

Pulling out his H-cell, he began to make his way through the sea of people. As he weaved between both man and metal, he eventually found himself in front of the store in question. Tucked away in a small alleyway, it was more akin to a warehouse than a workshop. A steel sign hung above the door, the metal worn down from a mix of both smoke and time.

Entering the store, he was met with something akin to a small department store. He began to search through the aisles, examining the weapons put out on display. While they looked like the weapons found in the early game, they also seemed rather different. Some were bulkier than what he remembered, while others had a much different feel in his hands.

Picking out a longsword from the wall, he found the grip to be rather solid. He gave the sheathed blade a few light swings, finding it to be rather balanced in weight. Putting the sword underneath his arm, he saw a shield hanging on a nearby wall. Making his way over to the shield, he took it off from where it hung before looking it over. A mixture of metal and leather, the design was rather familiar, often used by some of the human enemies. Strapping the round shield onto his arm, he found it to be rather light, albeit still having a good amount of heft to it.

'These two will work.'

With his choices made, he made his way over to the front desk, the cashier engrossed in the novel in their hands. Seeing this, Jake tossed both the shield and sword onto the table, the noise causing the cashier to jump. As they turned towards him, he reached forward before flicking them in the nose.

"Ah, what the fuck?!" the cashier shouted, rubbing their nose. Letting out a low groan, they turned to face him, a mix of both anger and confusion on their face. "What was that for?!"

"Needed your attention," Jake answered, giving them a small shrug. As they stumbled over their words, he took off the sword before placing it on the table. As the cashier raised their brow, he then brought out the Ruler Core before placing it next to the M.P. sword. "I want to trade these two for the weapons here."

"...Well, I'll be," the cashier exclaimed, their eyes widening as they picked up the Ruler Core. Looking it over, he watched as their eyes darted between him and the Core. Eventually, their brow furrowed as they placed the Core aside before turning to face him. "How did a kid like you get this?"

"My dad had some of these laying around, so I decided to use them," Jake lied, giving them a small shrug. Seeing them raise an eyebrow at his words, he shoved his hands into his pockets before meeting their gaze. "Does it really matter to you?"

"...Fair enough. Have a nice day," the cashier responded, scanning the items before pushing them forward. Taking both the sword and shield, he watched as the cashier placed the Core into some type of device. With a small click, the machine whirred to life, a soft purple glow surrounding it.

'Huh, never actually seen that before. Must be why materials can be used as currency in place of Macre,' Jake noted, tilting his head. Regardless, he decided to file that piece of information aside. Not inherently useful, but something to keep in mind.

Slinging the sword over his shoulder, he made his way out of the store and into the small corner the store resided in. Once outside, he tore the tags off of his new equipment before making his way out of the alley. Since he didn't have any reason to go to another Dungeon, he could head home and relax.

As Jake stepped into the bar, he made his way towards the billboard, passing by both staff and customers. Stopping in front of the cork-board, he began to scan through the posted Dungeons. As he searched through the listed dungeons, he heard a door slam open.

Focus.

As the world came to a crawl, Jake pulled out his pistol before turning to face the source of the noise. Yet, rather than any actual threat, what stumbled in was a random stranger. Panic was clear from their demeanor, eyes wide and unfocused.

'Well, this is new.'

Holstering his pistol, he made his way towards the individual. As he got closer to the statue-like stranger, he noticed a few things. The blood caked onto their pants, tattoos that were too systemic to be random choices.

'A member of a group, possibly a new gang recruit. Coming here means they're nearby and need extra hands. Either that, or they need somebody to clean up their mess.'

As color returned to his surroundings, he flicked the stranger in the ear, causing them to let out a yelp in pain. Cupping their ear, the stranger snapped towards him, a look of both anger and confusion on their face.

“Take me to where your problem is. I can deal with it,” Jake directed. He watched as the stranger's eyes widened at his words, a mix of emotions and questions on their face. A fair reaction, but unnecessary one, considering their circumstances. "Do you want to waste time thinking about this or do you want your issue dealt with?"

"...Follow me," the stranger responded, a mix of caution and resignation in their voice. Regardless, the two of them stepped out of the bar before making their way towards the location. As they made their way through the crowded streets, he noticed that they would often glance back at him.

'Guess there's a brain for this work in there.'

"Alright, here it is," the stranger said, stopping in front of what looked to be an old, dilapidated building. Any sort of life that used to inhabit it was gone, replaced with a heavy silence. Various faded murals covered the building's walls, overlapping one another like a collage. As the two made their way to a side entrance, the stranger turned to face him. "The elevator busted and the stairwell was blown to hell, same with the main entrance. You're gonna need to go down each floor through the ramps, and those ratty things are gonna put up a fight."

'Ah, they were transporting Skaava. Must've been high D-grade or C-grade if gangsters couldn't deal with them.'

Seems doable enough.

Taking a step back, Jake let out a heavy breath as he focused on the sensation from before. As he felt the sense of power begin to rise through his body, he then guided it into his legs like water through a pipe.

Strike.

With that, he rushed forward before kicking open the door, the metal hitting the wall with a loud crash. Feeling the energy fade, he gave the stranger a slight nod before stepping into the building.

An unexpected change of pace for his third week in this world, but nothing he couldn't handle.