On the back of Stoner's store, racks full of guns and shelves filled with unopened crates lined the walls. Tons of ammunition, both com-bloc and NATO stacked up to the walls. Marcus had never seen so much ammo in his life, not to mention the number of calibers in stock. Just the amount of 6.5mm calibers were enough to make someone dizzy, not to mention the other wildcats. Looking around, he wondered the exact number of bullets in storage and how long the supply would last if there happened to be a serious engagement.

Marcus walked along the shelves and racks, perusing and gorging his eyes on the selection of weapons available. He stopped as a gun caught his attention and turned to look at an AS Val sitting on a rack. Coming closer, he wanted to reach out to hold the rifle in his hands but stayed and kept his hands in his pockets. His father taught him not to mess with other people's stuff, no matter how much he wanted to touch the unicorn rifle.

Voices. Marcus looked towards the source to find two figures walking in his direction coming from the other side of the room. Stoner's bulky frame was immediately recognized even at a distance. He was talking with the other man walking beside him.

Squinting, Marcus couldn't see the other man's face, and so he instead watched the way the man walked, his gestures, and the way he looked to be very comfortable next to the burly armorer.

They looked to be good friends.

From the distance, Marcus could only get snippets of the conversation as they both came closer. “Yeah. He’s fast and a good shot. You should see it.” Marcus caught Stoner say, gesturing his direction for emphasis.

“Hartdegen, meet Columbus.” Stoner introduced as he and the man next to him came within earshot. The man introduced as Columbus stepped forward, right hand extended for a handshake.

Marcus stepped forward to meet the man in the middle, as is proper and not to seem like an asshole. "Nice to meet you Hartdegen." Columbus greeted, reaching over and clasping his hand, putting his left hand over Marcus' as they shook hands.

Name: Columbus Race: Human Player ID: 171157663785 Level: 20

“Right. Nice to meet you too.” Marcus said and was surprised to find that he’s a player and wondered what level of relation he had with Stoner to have the armorer do a favor for him.

Compared to Marcus' plain gray jumpsuit, Columbus wore a mismatched pattern of gray digital combat shirt under a forest splotch patterned carrier vest and what looked to be a British pattern DPM jacket over everything. Lower, he wore a pair of plain khaki cargo pants with dark brown knee pads and a pair of hiking boots.

“Stoner wasn't the one looking for good shots. It was me, and I had him look for people like you. So, how about you and me talk?” He said laying a couple of boxes of 7.62 on the counter. “Let me make it worth your time for a hundred rounds of ammo.”

Marcus looked at the ammo, then to Stoner, who only grinned and turned around to leave them to their conversation. Wondering what the man is on about, he asked. “What’s there to talk about?”

Columbus simply smiled. “A partnership for a quest. You interested?”

“I might. If you clue me in on what I'm jumping into first.” Marcus replied, backing a couple of steps to take a seat off a stack of crates of ammunition.

“I understand your caution," Columbus replied, taking a seat in front of Marcus. "We both do not know each other and have just been introduced by our mutual friend. So let me start, I need help with a quest where I have encountered a unique difficulty. The party limit is two people and the condition of the quest is that I cannot directly participate in combat, of which I know we will find a lot of. This is because I’m already at the level limit. In return, I will supply you with everything you will need, ammo, supplies, I’ll even hire you a gun you think you need, which will last for the duration of the quest. Are you interested?"

"Kinda risky isn't it? Telling me this much."

"I have calculated the risk. We are in a private area. If a word does get out of this business of mine, I'll immediately know where the leak was. Still, I do need to give you enough of a clue to what you'll be getting into. Otherwise, you wouldn't even consider the offer, because why would you?"

Marcus shrugged. "all right then, but why me? I'm sure you'll be able to find others."

“Reliable shooters are rare, even more so at a low level like yours. You, of course, being third place in the local course proves enough of your skills and I am willing to invest in that. Of course, you're not the only potential candidate for the position. there are two of you, but I am only limited to having one other person at my party. So, you two will have to shoot it out in a course I have prepared. the person with the best time gets the slot. And as proof for my claim, here."

Quest Information

[Redacted]

[Redacted]

Requirements: maximum average party level 20, 2 players.

[Redacted]

[Redacted]

Marcus read the quest description. Sure, most of it had been redacted but enough information has been left uncovered to see that he was not lying. It was a risk, but who would bother through all the trouble of trying to scam a low level like him. “All right. Looks legit. So when is this thing of yours going to happen.”

“Two hours, I already reserved the course, you two only get three runs each, best score wins.”

That was barely enough. sure, he had managed to zero the rifle prior but that doesn't mean anything. There are a lot of things that can still go wrong. “Why the rush?”

“The both of you are already here. It wouldn't be proper to have the two of you wait any further. As for your competition, She’s also a level one. Two hours should give you enough time to prepare”

"Gonna be tight," Marcus mulled. He might be wrong, but this opportunity does not look like something to simply pass up. "All right. I'll be there."

“See you then.” Columbus nodded. the two shook hands and Marcus watched as Columbus turned and walked away. on the way out, he gave Stoner a friendly wave to which the grumpy armorer returned with a nod.

Marcus waited about a minute after the man left the Armory before approaching Stoner at his counter. Marcus leaned over, watching the door, and let a couple of seconds pass before asking. "Who the fuck is that guy?"

"didn't I already introduced the two of you? isn't that enough?"

Marcus glanced at Stoner, there wasn't any more information he could get out of the man. "I guess it is. Can I borrow someplace private?

“You can use the place at the back to do your drills. It's private enough and doesn't fill one of my courses.” Stoner called. “But If you want to go shooting your rifle, use the range or the rifle course. For the second, well, you’ll have to take the queue like everyone else.”

"The back will be enough," Marcus replied.