The group of four was now in front of the shop Luka mentioned prior. It had a tan coloring and wavy imagery on it that made it resemble a beach. Apt to its appearance, there was a sign placed on it, showing that its name was Le rivage de l’océan.

When they walked inside, there were a few glass display cases in the shop but it was mostly empty since most of the merchandise seemed to be kept behind the counter. Behind that counter, was a middle-aged man with a neatly trimmed mustache and goatee. He wore the style of the Luminaire District with a black silk jacket with glowing teal lines lining it and a white undershirt with strings running through its collar.

“Hey, I see you’ve decided to show your ugly mug around here again. What do you need this time?’ The shop owner asked, clearly addressing Luka.

“Me? I don’t need anything right now unless you’re willing to lend me a few cores?”

The older man let out a hearty laugh. “Sure, if you don’t mind me putting it on your ever-growing tab.”

“You’re bringing that up again?. You know I’m good for it, I just need the time.”

“Yeah, definitely, you might even draw something for ‘free’ while you’re at it.” He pointed a thumb to the wall that was filled with drawings of various landscapes.

Luka grinned. “I thought they would fit nicely in here.”

“They really brighten up the atmosphere of this place. Anyway, I see Ev’s with you, but who are the other two youngsters?”

“Ah, these are the guys who actually have business with you today. I’m just here as a liason.” The shop owner furrowed his brows as he scrutinized them. Meanwhile, Luka glanced over to Allen and Nera.

“This here is Gauthier Bessette, one of the most dependable businessmen in the mana crystal business. Just show him your treasure trove and I’m sure we can settle on a decent price for everyone.”

Allen took a quick overview of the merchandise behind the counter and the overall quality of the establishment.

‘Some of the stuff in here looks expensive and this place is fairly up-scale. I was honestly half-expecting it to be a bit shadier than this but as it is now, there doesn’t seem to be much to worry about.’

After thinking it over, Allen used his one good hand to pull open the clasp of his pouch and carefully pulled out each of his mana crystals one by one. He counted each individual stone as he went. When he was done, Nera emptied her pouch by simply dropping its contents on top of the counter in one go.

There was a loud clatter and some of the stones went spinning in various directions but none of them fell off. After this, Gauthier bent forward and appraised the ten mana crystals.

“Hmm, I’ll give you 75 dollars for each so that’ll be 750 in total. Would you accept cash?” He stated dryly after his review of the stones. He was already reaching into the register to pull out some money.

“Woah, I never thought we would get that much that once!” Allen voiced with excitement while Nera had stars in her eyes. She reached out her hands to take the money from Gauthier, but Luka put up a hand to block hers.

“Hold on a sec, Nera.”

“Doodles, what’s your malfunction?” She questioned in irritation. There was one hand keeping her away from a couple extra hundred dollar bills in her pocket and a gourmet meal and she had half a mind to shove it out of the way.

“Yeah, I’m with her on this one. What’s your deal?”

Luka paid no mind to them and kept his gaze focused on the shop owner.

“Don’t you think that price isn’t quite right?”

“Hey-” Allen started but was quickly interrupted.

“Trust him, he knows what he’s doing. He comes here all the time.” Evelyn interspersed with her own words.

A slight frown appeared on the vendor’s face as he met Luka’s gaze with his own.

“What do you mean? I think I’m paying them pretty respectably here.” Gauthier asserted while tapping his finger on the table.

“It’s just that I caught wind that there’s been a shortage of crystals in these particular size ever since a tunnel of Atelier’s main catacomb collapsed last Friday and ever since weapon artisans having been willing to spend a hefty penny for mana crystals that can be easily affixed to an hand-held object.”

Gauthier folded his arms disgruntledly, very much aware that Luka was telling the truth since he was certainly aware of this news as well. It was his business to keep up with the fluctuating value of his wares.

“You got me. So, what’s your price?”

“How about 1300?”

“What!? Where did you get that number?” Gauthier gawked at the large amount he had propositioned.

“Well, I figured a solid hundred for each of the low-quality crystals would be good but this one…” Luka picked up the larger crystal and showed it to Gauthier.

“Is a little bit more special than the others…it’s obviously from a wraith if you look closely at the hint of color it has.”

Gauthier scratched his chin as if deep in thought while Allen and Nera looked on cluelessly and Evelyn had a smug look on her face.

“Can’t get anything past my Luka.”

“I guess it makes sense that the wraith-class stone would be worth more. I didn’t even think twice about the value of each crystal because the price he gave out was so high.” Allen murmured.

‘Try to keep up, newbie. Anyway, what do you say about the price I offered?” Luka asked toward Gauthier.

“I see your point about that larger stone being better than the rest, probably a Faible Cristal even, but $400 just for one decent mana crystal is too much. I’ll take it for 150.”

“Sheesh, that’s undercutting it a bit much don’t you think, 300 instead?”

“175.” Gauthier stated his price ambivalently.

“250.”

“I’m sticking with 175 Luka.”

“220?” Luka said with a pleading look.

Gauthier closed his eyes and grunted slightly.

“Fine, I’ll take it for 220.” The vendor relented with a sigh.

“So that’ll be $1,120 in all. I knew you were a respectable guy, Gauthier.”

“Yeah yeah, I just thought I’d show some new business associates some generosity the first time around.” Gauthier proclaimed as he counted some money out of the register then handed it to Nera’s open and eagerly waiting hands.

“Of course, that’s what I would expect from someone who aspires to run an establishment of high-caliber. I might be generous enough to perform a concert in front of your store one day that would surely draw in customers.” Evelyn said with her arms folded and a prideful tone.

“No, that’s fine. Your voice is much too strong for my delicate items to handle, but the sentiment is much appreciated.” Gauthier responded hurriedly.

This brought out a downcast look from Evelyn as she dramatically turned her head from him.

“Alright, pass up your chance. Soon Evelyn Facilis will be a world-renown name. It will reach the far cor-”

“Ev, don’t want to interrupt you but we’ll need to start going if we want to grab good seats at the opera.”

With the flip of a switch, her mood completely changed and she darted over to Luka and grabbed his arm with both of hers.

“What are we doing here then? I’ve been waiting for this performance for a month, let’s hurry up and go. I am not ending up in the nosebleed section again.” She yelled as she attempted to drag Luka out of the store. He held on just long enough to tell Allen and Nera one last thing.

“Guess this is the end of our tour. Enjoy your earnings and don’t spend it all in one place, okay?”

The two then left the store with the chime of a bell. Afterwards, Allen and Nera stood there kind of at a loss before Nera handed Allen some of the money they had just received for the specter stones.

“Here’s your cut.”

“How much is it?”

“It’s exactly half of course. We’re partners who both risked our lives for it after all.”

“Yeah, that’s right.”

They both put the money away and walked out of Le rivage de l’océan.

***

They were walking back to where they entered the Starlit Pathway with Allen wrapped in his thoughts.

‘Now, that I have a bit of extra cash, maybe I can spare a few to start repaying Nera. I have a feeling she wouldn’t accept me simply giving her cash. Plus, it can’t be too expensive since we need to eventually buy the Theurgist’s Periapt but not something she wouldn’t want at all. Just what could I get that boisterous woman?’

For not the first time, Allen thought about how he did not really know anything about the person next to him. What were her hobbies? Her aspirations? Did she have anyone she was close to? These were all questions Allen did not know the answer to. They did not meet unless it was related to specter hunting and they did not talk about anything unless it was related to specter hunting or the Grim Inheritors.

‘Well, I’m terrible at small talk anyway. It’s fine if things continue like this, but what am I going to do about finding something to even the score a little bit?’

Allen began scanning the storefronts that they walked passed until he eventually spotted something that caught his eye. A store filled with capsule machines and one that had the picture of a character of the show that Nera was apparently a fan of on it.

‘That could be it.’

“Hey Nera, I’m going in that store for a minute. Don’t get lost.” Allen abruptly told her this as he diverted his course towards the shop.

“Wait, what?” Nera let out at his sudden change of plans.

“Don’t worry, it’s just going to be a moment, I hope.”

“Ugh, fine, I’ll just wait here or something. You really do have the attention span of a squirrel, you know that?’

‘What in the world does that even mean?’

When he got inside the store, he quickly found the capsule dispenser and read how it advertised that a special “Galaxina: The Nebula Champion” figure was available inside with a distinct “galaxy” symbol. The young man did not take too long to find the one with that symbol and noticed it was seemingly close to being dispensed.

However, after exchanging some of his cash for coins and turning the crank of the machine over a dozen times, he got the capsule he was aiming for but realized how deceptive its position had been.

He was still satisfied with his prize and opened it up to get a better look at it.

‘Wait, what is this?’

The figure was a small orange and red robot, nothing at all like the Galaxina picture on the machine. With the benefit of hindsight, he should have been able to come to the conclusion the advertisement never specified what the figure from the show would be.

‘It looks cool, but I’ve never seen this before. Is this even something she’d want?’

Allen decided not to take the chance and just bought a semi-expensive violet bracelet from the store. When he left, he saw Nera leave from a nearby store as well with a bunch of shopping bags over her shoulder and eating an overly extravagant scone layered with chocolate syrup.

“I see that someone didn’t mind going on a shopping spree when we need to save the money.” Allens said with the extra capsules he incidentally bought hidden in his pouch.

“Hmph, everything I got was important. What about you? What did you just buy?” She asked through bites of her scone.

“Just this.” He pulled out the metal violet bracelet.

“Hold on, did you get that for me?” Nera asked after noticing it was her favorite color.

“Yeah surprisingly, just consider it a bit of my payback for the elixirs.” Allen said with a halfhearted smug tone. It was difficult for him to be nonchalant at the moment.

“...So, you find out about that. I wish that bot could keep her mouth shut. Regardless, I appreciate the sentiment lackey, let’s just hope that you have enough to buy more elixirs for yourself.”

“I took that into consideration when looking at its price.” Allen stated matter-of-factly.

“Wow, you really are mega generous.” Nera responded sarcastically as she placed the bracelet on her wrist alongside one of her gauntlet’s metal bands.

“Yeah, I know. Now, let’s go find somewhere to get some magical potions that can fix my broken arm. I might become ambidextrous if this keeps up any longer.”

***

***

There were still a bunch of street performers on the Starlit Pathway as they passed through it. There was a bunch of commotion going on all around them that they were not paying attention to.

At the same moment, a pair of eyes scanned over the area and through the large crowd that surrounded them until they spotted a young man with his arm wrapped in a cast and a young woman with monochrome hair.

Suddenly, Nera felt a tug on her wrist and the violet bracelet she was wearing was forcibly ripped off her wrist.

“Augh!” She yelled as she clutched her wrist causing Allen to quickly look over in her direction. Their gaze followed the path the violet bracelet had taken through the air and landed in the open palm of a tanned man with blonde hair and dark eyes wearing a spattering of what looked to be Roman gladiator armor over stylish clothes.

At his hip, he had a bronze sword sheathed while a shield of the same metal was fastened on his other arm. He was in the middle of a wide circle formed by a crowd of people around him and had a satisfied grin on his face as he clasped his hand over the bracelet. He seemed to be some kind of entertainer in the middle of a performance.

“Hey, we’re not a part of your act, you larping showoff.” Allen walked right up to the tanned man and stared him in the face.

“This is not an act. I was simply reclaiming a stolen item for one of my spectators.” He gestured to a worried looking woman at the edge of the circle clutching her wrist like Nera had been.

“What do you mean “stolen”? That freaking bracelet was bought fair and square.” Nera asserted fiercely.

“She’s right, I’m sorry that lady got hers taken but we’re going to need that back.” Allen reached for the bracelet in his hand but the performer pulled it back just before his hand reached it.

“Woah there, I can’t just give you this back with no more evidence than your words. Do you expect me to believe you two, who look like penniless freeloaders, like yourselves could just buy something this expensive in the middle of the Starlit Pathway.”

“But you took it from us without evidence. Just who do you think you are?”

The performer grinned widely as if waiting for him to ask this.

“I am the Starlit Pathway’s King of Entertainment, Mettius Levius Vestinus also known simply as Vius and here disputes can be settled with a display of skill.”

“What? We’re not starting an idoitic fight over a fucking bracelet if that’s you’re talking about.” Nera chimed in.

“Let’s go.”

Allen hesitated for a moment as he was nearly boiling over with anger but decided that it was not worth the trouble and with one last look of disdain, turned to walk away.

“Yeah, alright.” Allen relented.

“Oh, so you and that mutt are going to walk away peacefully?”

Vius reacted quickly to block a punch aimed right for his face.

“So, you’re the one who’s going to accept my challenge?” The “King of Entertainment” inquired with a jovial tone.

Allen shouted back. “If that means that I get to beat the crap out of you then hell yeah!”

***

Allen and Vius were now directly across within the crowd of people around them in a makeshift arena with Nera there as well with an annoyed look on her face.

“You ever heard of Knight Duel? Well, you’re craftless so I’ll assume you haven’t. It’s a combat duel usually between Crafters that allows for a variety types of weapons and skills to be used. The one to win is the one who scores enough hits on their opponent. In this case, how about we need to score five hits for this match. Also, we’ll use these to fight with and keep in mind that this is only a mock knight duel.”

Gladiator Craft, 1st Page - Ordinarii

He reformed his shield and sword into two bronze staffs then threw one of them to Allen. After catching it, he closely inspected the staff for anything suspicious before turning to look at Vius again.

“You really do like hearing the sound of your voice. I’m fine with those terms but since you can see I only have one good arm, I’m going to specify a few conditions.”

“And those are?”

“You have to avoid my arm, you can’t use your arm, and you can’t use Craft.”

“I see, those sound fair, then I’ll make a request that you avoid my face, it’s my money maker.” Vius remarked as he placed his right arm behind his back.

“Whatever. Let’s start already.”

“Alright, I like the spirit.” He then snapped his fingers and pointed at someone in the crowd. A meek-looking man with brown hair.

“You over there. How about you start us off with the usual count of three?”

The spectator nodded and started to count down. The crowd chanted along after each count.

"Ready!"

"Set!"

"Charge!"

The moment he reached one, Allen rushed at Vius as fast as he could. He bombarded the gladiator with a barrage of strikes that were all blocked.

“Ok! You’re really trying your best aren’t you?”

“It doesn't take a genius to swing a hunk of metal.”

Allen was getting frustrated with how ineffectual attacks were and looked for an opening or tactic he could use to throw the more skilled combatant off. Meanwhile, Vius began dodging Allen’s attacks completely while the latter kept up his assault.

Tired of this, Allen was seemingly about to swing the bronze staff he had again and Vius moved to the side to avoid it, but was caught off guard when Allen instead thrust the staff at his legs. Vius tripped and had to use the hand with his staff to keep himself from falling completely on the ground.

While he was off-balance, Allen took the opportunity to strike him three times on his legs, torso, and face respectively with extra emphasis on his last hit which caused Vius to wince. He quickly propelled himself from the ground and stood back up while getting some distance.

The crowd gasped in shock while Nera had a slight grin on her face.

‘Maybe Allen can pull this off after all.’

Vius looked mostly unfazed but there was a hint of malice in his expression.

“I vaguely remember telling you to avoid my face.”

“But I don’t remember agreeing to that.” Allen responded.

“Is that so? If that’s the case…”

Allen recoiled as Vius’s weapon was suddenly thrust into his stomach. The larger man had closed the distance in an instant.

“I guess I can stop holding back.”

Vius spun his staff around to strike Allen in his side with a heavy impact. Allen stumbled to regain his stance.

“That’s two.”

The next blow came from above and hit Allen square on the back. He grunted loudly as his back was set ablaze with pain.

“That makes three.”

Nera’s grin faded almost as soon as it appeared as she observed the turn of the fight.

‘Come on, Allen. He must have some sort of strategy to win this. He always does. If we were able to beat Harpe and even deal with a few mega strong wraith-class specters there’s no way he’s going to lose to a smug jerk like this.’

Blood splattered in the air rousing Nera from her contemplation as Allen was knocked across the arena. Her eyes were frozen open as she observed the scene play out.

Allen was wobbling while trying to get up the ground and wiping blood from his face. The young man got to his feet only to stumble backward into the crowd and forcibly pushed back closer to the center of the arena. The spectators felt that the fight was much too riveting to end just yet.

Nera regained her composure after the sudden shock and spoke up.

“Hey, lackey! What do you think you’re doing. You don’t have to go this far for stupid bracelet you bought me. I’ll be fine without it! You’re too weak to beat this guy.”

“Shut up. You sound as annoying as Marc was.” Allen muttered under his breath but it was still at a level that Nera could pick on with her enhanced hearing even above the noise of the crowd. Allen then suddenly looked over to Nera when he realized she would hear. Nera averted his gaze.

She was confused by the name he had mentioned and was about to say something else but decided against it and walked away from the arena and the fight.

Her departure caused Allen to look downcast as he regretted his words.

‘I’ll just patch things over with her later.’ Allen thought this to himself as he focused his attention back on the opponent in front of him.

Meanwhile, Vius was mockingly rubbing his arm.

“You really are a wild one, aren’t you? You took that hit just so you can land one on me. How about we put an end to this already? When I spotted you two, a mutt off her leash and a powerless fool, I thought you at least would be a little challenging in a mundane duel like this.”

Vius began approaching Allen slowly who was still unsteady on his feet from the last hit.

“However, me and my audience are highly disappointed. You’re just trash who isn’t skilled in blending in or fighting back. Unfortunately, I see no skill. Hmm, “No Skill”. That has a nice ring to it.” Vius declared as Allen glared into his eyes.

The gladiator crafter turned about-face to the crowd and raised up his hands theatrically.

“Each of us has scored four hits on the other, but as you can see, I have fared much better than this craftless has and now it’s time for this match to come to a close with my victory. I will settle this with one final and swift blow. However, let’s give up to No Skill here for his valiant effort! Everyone, let’s applaud No Skill!”

The crowd agreed readily to his command like court jesters complying to the whims of a cruel monarch. In unison, they began chanting “No Skill” over and over with sarcastic glee. Each repetition felt like a hammer being slammed over Allen’s skull as his mouth filled with the taste of iron from his blood.

The challenger gritted his teeth and gripped the bronze staff once more while channeling Subtle Iron over it. In one swift motion, he lashed out at the figure who still had his back turned to him.

A clang of metal echoed through the area. The attack was blocked.

“It’s over.” Vius declared as he swung one last blow to Allen’s chest knocking him flat on his butt. Allen’s expression betrayed his bewilderment.

“You might have thought that you’re special by being a craftless who can use mana but I’ve seen plenty like you before and they’re all the same, weaklings.” Vius remarked in a wry tone.

Allen’s eyes furrowed at those words. He had known that there were others that had undergone spectral manifestation, but he realized that a small part of him had come to the conclusion that he was unique in his ability to use mana control without him even realizing it.

“...So what, I’m not like whoever you’re comparing me to. I can still fight.” Allen uttered as he was gradually standing up. Vius then reached out a hand to help him up.

“I know it may sound insincere. But I don’t have a problem with weaklings, it’s the existence of the weak which defines the strength of the strong.”

Allen simply swatted his hand away.

“I don’t care what your twisted reasonings are.” He got to a ready stance on his own.

“The duel is over. If you continue, I’ll consider this a real fight.” Vius’s statement was more firm than a warning and more akin to a vow.

Allen breathed in deeply and let out a loud exhale.

“I’m not giving up until I get that bracelet you stole back. There’s someone I need to repay and I’m not skimping on a single piece of what I owe her.”

Vius chuckled. “That’s a nice sentiment. I guess I should respond in kind.” He raised his bronze staff up and chanted.

“Gladiator Craft, 3rd Page - Retiarius.”

The staff reformed into a large bronze trident. Allen’s eyes widened in surprise as Vius thrust the three-pronged polearm towards his throat with no time for him to counter. However, Vius stopped right before he could land the finishing blow.

“Now…will you give up, No Skill?”

Allen gulped as his heart thumped wildly in his chest and his palms were covered with cold sweat. His whole body was trembling. This was the first time that the approach of death had been so swift and unexpected. Allen truly realized how out of his depth he was at that moment.

The bronze staff fell out of the young man’s hands and he walked out of the arena and through the crowd with his held low.

Vius called out to Allen one last time without his characteristic grin. “That chip on your shoulder, get rid of it.”

Allen showed no sign of hearing those words as he left from sight.

***

Allen shortly arrived at what looked like a futuristic medieval apothecary as paradoxical as that sounded. There, standing next to the entrance, was a young woman with violet eyes with a look that spelt “I told you so”.

“You were right. That fight was pointless.”

She rolled her eyes. “Wouldn’t take a genius to figure that out. That bracelet wasn’t worth it anyway.” She still wanted to ask him about the name he mentioned but did not want to break the dam of her own personal history yet. What right did she have to snoop into his past when she was not even able to reveal hers?

“Well…I still wanted to give you something as thanks, even just a little. I thought about giving you this first but went with the bracelet instead. I guess it’ll do as a solid backup plan.” He handed her the orange and red robot he got from the capsule dispenser and her face lit up.

“Woah, you actually managed to find one of these!?”

“Is it expensive?”

“Nope. But this is super hard to find due to how obscure this robot is in the show…that I may or may not watch.”

“So, this is good.” Allen inquired in confusion.

“Yes, this is good.” Nera confirmed as she snatched the figure from his hands and staring scanning it over even more closely.

“Alright, I’ll take that as a win. Now, I’m going to go in this place and get a crate full of elixirs. My body is aching all over.”

***

Allen and Nera headed into the apothecary and bought several Lesser Elixirs. Allen immediately used one on his arm and one on the rest of his other injuries, including the many he had sustained in the fight with Vius. The details about the elixirs that came with them had informed the two that it would still take about a week for the broken arm to be mended even with the magical potion speeding up the process.

As they walked towards the spot where they usually exited the Luminaire District, Allen peered curiously into a glass vial he held over his head that contained a golden-colored elixir, within the luminescent liquid was a Crafter’s sigil bearing the resemblance of an eight-pointed leaf.

“I wonder what the world would be like if normal people had access to things like this.” Allen pondered this to himself then shrugged his shoulders at the indiscernible question and put the vial away.

‘For me at least, with these to fall back on. I would’ve gotten into a lot more annoying fights like the one today.’

***

Around the same time, in a spacious office room at the top of a tall skyscraper building overlooking the Starlight Pathway. A man wearing a brown and gold-trimmed suit with light green hair and amber eyes was peering out through windows that served as the outer wall of the office.

He was sipping on a refreshing glass of lemonade as he watched the crowds of people merrily go about their day. They looked as small as ants from up that high, but he was still able to make out people individually such as two non-Crafters who clearly stood out. The amber-eyed man was suddenly disturbed from his hobby by the sound of the electronic doorbell of his office ringing.

He casually tapped a button on his ornate mahogany office table revealing that it had a built-in screen overlaying the wooden surface of the table. The door to the room slid open and a man in a navy blue suit with a bright neon teal tie walked in.

“Hello, it’s a pleasure to finally meet the keystone of Hieronymus Pharmaceuticals himself.” The man in the navy blue suit respectfully addressed the head of Hieronymus Pharmaceuticals.

“Likewise, how are things going with the expansion project?” The amber-eyed man spoke with an exceedingly affable tone that remained professional at the same time.

The response to his question came with a grin from the man in the teal tie and he followed by displaying a holographic projection from his personal cellular device. It was a model showing the plans for a new branch of Hieronymus Pharmaceuticals.

“Great, within a few more days. The building will be complete and ready to start the process of opening.”

Suddenly, the glass shattered in the pharmaceutical head’s hand as it was crushed by an overwhelming force.

“Are you alright, sir!” The visitor asked with alarm. He saw that the viewer of his presentation’s hand was now covered in blood. However, the amber-eyed man simply took out a handkerchief to wipe the blood off his hand.

“It’s fine. I was just overwhelmed with the remarkable news.”

“Are you sure it’s alright?”

“Yes, I’ll just get someone to clean the mess up later. Minor wounds like this were never a problem for me anyway. The real topic we should be focusing on is this project. Think about it, its completion could be a groundbreaking step in melding this fractured world together.” As he proclaimed this, a mystical Sigil appeared over his wounded hand that had the shape of an eight-pointed leaf.

***

It took until next Thursday for Allen’s to be about a day from being able to take off his cast. It was now covered with scribbles of different people’s names from his art group, Amy, and other R&R lounge patrons. Unfortunately or not, Virtuoso had not been able to track down any new jobs during that time and they were instead spending lengthy amounts of time just hanging out in R&R. This was how Allen and Nera were currently, drinking their favorite beverages of smoothie and tea respectively and bemoaning their lack of progress.

“I can’t believe there hasn’t been a hint of any specter activity recently.” Nera complained.

“That’s actually a good thing but not something our wallets are too happy about.” Allen followed drearily.

Their heads both fell to the table they were at in exaggerated self-pity. It was a few moments after that Nera’s phone began to ring with a buzz.

“Can you get that Allen? I’m too busy sighing.”

“Nah, it’s your phone and I’m too busy contemplating how broke we are after buying those elixirs.”

Glenn, as he was sitting next by, observed this and stepped forward.

“Mind if I pick it up for you?” The young man offered.

“Go ahead. Probably, just my boss wanting to talk about her new sports car.” Nera replied dismissively.

Glenn proceeded to pick up the phone and flipped it open to answer the call. After a few brief words, he informed the two what the speaker had told him.

“Congratulations are in order, it looks like you two have gotten your first job request.”