Allisium

Chapter 16

The forklift descended for four long minutes until it came to a stop. It was an old and rusty pot that supported the weight of the fifty or so adventurers who had decided to enter the base of the trunk. None of them looked very good, which confirmed that anyone was not qualified to enter that underworld. I breathed a sigh of relief for Dagon and found that combat mode couldn't take effect there either.

I felt somewhat safer knowing that no one could harm us. That didn't stop my stomach from turning at the thought of everything I could find down there. Greek, however, was very calm and whistled next to me, as if it were just another formality. She knew him well enough to know that he felt like a fish to water. I decided that he would call the shots, but I would try to keep him out of trouble. Despite not being able to enter combat mode , if someone swore to you they could always chase you down and hunt you down anywhere in the system.

That Greek was an Italian with too long a tongue was obvious. His sudden burst of humor could cause him to cross some wires and get us into more trouble than we already had.

"You're very tense, Vinci, relax a bit," he recommended. You know what they say about velociraptors? They smell fear. Well, these guys down here are like those beasts; they crouch down, observe their prey and, if they see that it is a pipiolo, they chase it to rob it as soon as they have the opportunity.

"Why do I have to accompany you?" I snorted unwillingly.

"I don't like people looking over my shoulder or trying to laugh at me, you know I have trouble controlling my temper." She didn't have to swear. If I have made an entire clan follow us and want to kill us as soon as we become illegal, you better keep an eye on me if you don't want all of Allsium to want to see us dead, capito ?

I didn't like to play the mother, but at least the Italian was aware of those outbreaks that, among other things, had caused him to lodge a bullet in the head of the rich head of a clan, or to kill a dinosaur that had confused us with lunch.

There was little light in the happy black market, of course. That place was kept in the shadows, with faint reddish tones that highlighted the features and the darkness in the faces of the adventurers. There were very well equipped veterans and others from the new era; newbies like me looking around in fright as they scanned the trading posts and some of the more valuable items for sale there.

It was hard for me to adjust to that reddish darkness. Decadent heavy metal music kept playing in the background, but even so it was difficult to make oneself understood amid the murmurs of travelers and the shouts of shopkeepers offering their services.

"Let's get this over with as soon as possible," I whispered into Greek's ear.

He nodded and gestured for me to follow him. It seemed to head towards the bottom, where there was even less light. The first stalls, it seemed, did not offer weapons buying and selling services, but rather collector's items that were obtained from the missions and that many travelers chose to sell. What was going wrong for someone else might be of interest to someone else, especially if they were items specific to a particular path, like staffs and hats for users of the Path of the Wizard.

I could see that absolutely anything was sold. Everything was in good condition, that was something that Allsium guaranteed by default. If you took off one shirt and put on another, the used one was cleaned immediately; you could even put it back on again, like it was brand new. Lane gear was the same, though it did have some durability and stamina and sometimes you would have to visit any system's gunsmiths to get it fixed. There were no washing machines or all that kind of electrical appliances, in virtual life the only thing we had to worry about was that every minute counted.

Greek stopped at a stand where there were a multitude of windows displaying their products in a very elegant and orderly manner. That place had a certain level, an oasis in the desert. Everyone who passed by would stop to look at something.

Greek nodded for me to follow him.

“This is the store where I bought the Remington, ” he commented. They said that they could be found physically in Tveirland, on the black market, and here they are. How many credits do we have, Vinci?

Money wasn't an issue thanks to the forty thousand credits we'd earned for completing that general quest, but that didn't mean we could waste it. In Allsium one could never have enough money.

"Two thousand," I said.

We had brought twenty thousand credits to Tveirland, the rest we had left in our safe at Initium. However, in all the hotels there was an option so that the adventurers could leave their savings, something that I took advantage of knowing the Italian. The hotel staff deposited it in their safe, upon payment, and it was possible to withdraw it whenever desired.

" Cazzo... " he complained. We should have brought more.

As if I had given birth to it.

In the end he bought two boxes of twenty bullets that went for just over a hundred credits. He tried to talk me into buying something else, but with the Beretta and the Remington we had more than enough. Dagon wasn't going to use any weapon, we knew that, and I had enough with a basic pistol. We couldn't let the Italian's passion for firearms bankrupt us.

With Greek cursing to himself, we left that store called Bullets . Apparently, the brothel and the undesirable places were located even further down, so , on our way to the freight elevator, already calmer since we hadn't had any altercations, I was able to notice something that had previously caught my attention.

It was a collector's item stall. Equipment and weapons that could be obtained in the most difficult missions and that alluded to the most mythical of video games, movies or novels to which Allsium used to pay homage on its planets.

"Look, Greek," I pointed at him with my index finger. ring a bell?

“Ma che cosa ? He blurted out when he saw him. His eyes blinked incessantly, not being able to believe what they were reading.

It was an ad that said: “Buster Sword wanted for two million credits” .

“My mommy ! he exclaimed. Two million credits for a fucking sword?

The shopkeeper heard us and came over to us. Greek's voice was high”pitched, very Italian, so he would have been heard even in Initium.

"It's not a common sword." The man had a strange accent, Russian perhaps. It is about the valuable Buster Sword , the sword that Cloud wielded in Final Fantasy VII . I imagine you will know her.

His eyes gave off a transcendental shine that he wanted to convince us of the greatness of that super wide and heavy sword that appeared in the image. Although it was not necessary to even take a look at it, because we had more than seen it. In fact, it was in the safe on our property at the Initium hotel.

Two million credits tucked in there.

"It seems that I have not convinced you, right?" he commented.

"I don't understand why this one is important and that one not so much," Greek said, pointing to the first dagger that came his way.

"You seem to have no idea how legendary items work, huh?"

We both stared at him, raised our eyebrows, and shrugged.

“Look, to get an item you have to complete quests, some will be general Allsium and others specific to each world. When a quest rewards an item, especially S or A rank quests, there is a five percent chance that the item is important. Well, within that five percent there are some weapons that have a three percent chance of being legendary. One of those is the Buster Sword , the best sword in the Path of the Paladin. It is said that it is easier to be struck by lightning fourteen times before you hit the Buster Sword.

Greek and we don't look at each other and raise our eyebrows at the same time. It must have been a matter of karma, and we thought that he still owed us more than one.

None of us three had chosen a path yet. And there was only one person who could take the Path of the Paladin, even though he himself didn't know it yet.

"So two million credits…" Greek huffed as we rode up the elevator. Breathing fresh air was very good for me.

"You're not thinking of selling it, are you?"

"Well, under normal conditions I would have sold it," he replied, "but there are three of us and the loot belongs to all of us." If we had chosen a path it would be logical to sell it, but having a legendary weapon in our possession can help one of us decide on the Path of the Paladin, right?

"It would be choosing a path from a weapon," I replied. That's like starting the house from the roof.

“On the contrary, Vinci. Those who have chosen the Path of the Paladin will be tired of praying and risking their virtuality for that slim chance they have of obtaining the Buster Sword as a reward in some mission. I thought that whoever wasted their time on that small possibility had little else to do in their life. In my opinion, we are obliged to take that path.

"The truth is that you're right," I said, thinking better of it. Anyone who has gone down that path will be crazy to get the Buster Sword , and you've already seen the prices it sells for. Seems like it makes a real difference.

We didn't know anything about legendary weapons and what they meant for a lane. We were newbies who had fallen by pure luck and therefore we had to be careful and be aware that we would never get another like it again.

"We won't sell it," I decided. We will find out about the advantages it has and decide who is the most suitable to wield it.

"We're not going to think much," the Italian replied with a half smile. We both know that it is Dagon who is to be a paladin.

I was surprised that he would say that, especially when the big guy couldn't raise his hand to anyone, not even a fly.

"I agree, but you know that Dagon...

“Dagon is old enough, Vinci. He knows that we have not come to have a good time and that one day he will have to start contributing to the group. As well as money, which, by the way, is no longer so necessary.

“Forgive me for intruding on your conversation,” said a pleasant female voice, “but I couldn't help but overhear you talking about paladins. You might be interested to know that you can find the Guild Fountain that gives access to the Path of the Paladin right here in Tveirland. You should read the notice board whenever you arrive on a new planet. The Owner's Manual says so...

" Va bene , va bene , ragazza ," Greek said impatiently. They're already on it, but thank you .

The girl had straight reddish hair, crystalline green eyes, and full lips that screamed for something stupid. She looked like one of those beauties that could only be found on the internet, on disreputable pages.

And, apparently, he also had character.

"Were you born yesterday, Italian?" he asked, raising one of his fine eyebrows. I thought that everyone spoke the same language, but I didn't imagine that there are still idiots who insist on differentiating themselves from the rest.

The Italian, who also had plenty of character, was not amused. His face lit up and he began the counterattack.

“ Figlia di… “before he continued I covered his mouth with my hand and we struggled until he managed to get free. What's wrong with being proud of your homeland?

"There's nothing wrong, dear, but taglines are out of style now." Get over.

I didn't let Greek answer. We were still in the forklift and it would have drawn even more attention. I told her to go breathe and let me talk to her.

"Sorry, it's your hallmark," I explained. He drops Italian words from time to time, but you shouldn't go around missing people either, right?

He cocked his face to assess me. He must have been my age, maybe a couple of years older, tops. She had great self”confidence, it was obvious at first glance. She was wearing dark, tight clothing that I could have sworn was leather, though she didn't show any hint of heat. You had to remember that we were in Tveirland, an exotic planet that didn't drop below thirty degrees even at night.

He noticed the review I gave him with my eyes.

"You've never seen a woman like me, have you?"

If he wanted me to blush, he had succeeded. He sensed it and smiled as he shook his head. She was better than any girl he had ever seen, her smile shining and her body sculpted into dangerous curves.

"I've seen many women”although certainly none like her." You're very… pretty, yes,” was all I could say. But you're still wrong.

"Maybe I've gone too far." He smiled and winked at me. Apologize to your friend for me, okay?

And he ran his index finger across my cheek; which, in addition to making me blush, gave me a chill and a sensation that I had never felt before. I noticed that something was getting animated down there, so I tried to compose myself as best I could.

"Thanks for the information," I replied with difficulty. We have another partner reading the missions, it seems that it is going a little slow.

“I understand. “It was then that the elevator stopped and the adventurers began to leave. It's been a pleasure, and I think for you too," he said as he smiled and glanced at my crotch. I hope we meet again, ciao !

I stood there gawking as her butt and long legs climbed out of the forklift. She was quite a sight, she had such a firm ass that every stride she took was hypnotic and…

"Wake up, stubborn ! " Greek gave me a smack that made me return to the crude virtuality. The ragazza is good , but it is wild. Too much woman for you. Come on, let's go.

Still sore from the lash, I had no choice but to get out of the elevator and curse myself for not asking his name. I figured it didn't matter, it was going to be the last time I saw her. The chances of running into someone in Allsium a second time were so low that it was more likely to drop another legendary item in a quest.

“You said that the Path of the Paladin Guild Fountain was in Tveirland,” I reported. Let's see if Dagon just read it all and we can see where.

"What we have to do is convince the ragazzone to choose that path," he replied.

I shrugged and kept thinking about the missed opportunity. In any massive social video game, the player's name used to appear when interacting with someone, but Allsium was not a video game, and we were not given those kinds of facilities. Allsium was like real life, and if you were clumsy and embarrassing there, it's logical that you would also be in virtuality, no matter how much you wanted to change it.

He did not have the conviction to pretend to be what he was not, something that many adventurers did achieve. The double life might be fine, but it could be dangerous. I, Gunner Kid, had lost the opportunity to meet a redhead who was crazy for being as bland as ever, and that I had come to Allsium, among other things, to overcome my fears and gain confidence in myself.

Allsium one, Gunner zero.