LOOT DROP Chapter: 22

  “Thank you, come again!” Faith said, waving off an immortal as he carried the broken items in his hands away. “Next!”

  Beside Faith, Fisk stood, observing the crowd of players that had gathered in front of the guild hall to reclaim their lost items.

  Although… reclaim was a strong word to be used considering the heft of the coin bag that Fisk squeezed in his hands.

  Fifty-two thousand coins and counting…

  Fisk smiled, watching the players one by one arrive to try and buy gear with the stipulation of one per person. At first, the players were weary, scared even to approach Fisk, but thanks to Faith's beaming appearance and friendly attitude, Fisk’s idea was going off without a hitch.

  Well, almost.

  “Hey! Hey, that's my armor!” A player yelled, pushing past the crowd in an attempt to reach towards Fisk's pile of loot.

  “Hey buddy! No cutsies! Wait in line like the rest of us!” Another player yelled.

  “Screw you! It took me twelve hours to get that drop! I'm not letting anyone steal my armor!” The player yelled, rushing towards Fisk, however, upon getting close, a boom sounded, followed by the troublemaker evaporating into a stream of light.

  “Please remember to stay in an orderly line!” Faith cheered, upsetting the silence that had befallen the space.

  Then, it was business as usual, the players already ignoring the fact one of their own had been dispatched by Fisk's shotgun.

  Now that he had the attention of the players, it was time for part two of his plan.

  “You,” Fisk said, pointing at a player with darker than black skin named, Kong’sMeatyFist. He was burly, tall, the player having large long arms while his legs were short.

  The player froze, the only thing visible as his features being his large white eyes that darted around with confusion.

  “Me?” Kong said, before stepping up to Fisk with all eyes on him.

  “I want you to punch that shopkeeper, and don't stop until a judge attacks you,” Fisk said, his quest prompt appearing.

  [Would you Like to Issue a Quest?]

  Fisk selected yes, his eyes darting to the favor and experience options available.

  Huh…

  [Favor available: 900]

  [Experience Available: 2300]

  Why do I have experience to give? Fisk pondered, unsure how he had gained so much experience when his own level was still five. Is it because I killed so many players?

  Fisk decided to award the player one thousand xp, a lot for small task but one necessary to hopefully offset the sixty percent the player would lose.

  After some extensive research, Fisk had learned that when a player died, they would lose sixty percent of their current experience bar, with every subsequent death resulting in level loss after their third death until they managed to level up again to reset their death penalty.

  Kong shifted his head, the player’s eyes unfocused from Fisk to stare at what Fisk could only assume was the quest box issued out to him.

  The player accepted the quest, his face eager as he ran in the direction of Fisk’s chosen target. More specifically, the shopkeeper that had rudely kicked him and Faith out of their shop.

  “Huh? Hello, how may I-HEKL?!” The woman let out, doubling over as she was punched in the gut.

  Immediately the sky above began to brighten, a magic circle heralding the arrival of a judge.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  “Cease hostilities!” The judge ordered, standing in the sky.

  Kong looked up at the judge before turning to Fisk, almost as if seeking his approval.

  Fisk nodded and the deed was done, resulting in the player being obliterated by a beam of pure light as they punched the shopkeeper once more.

  Cruel?

  Perhaps, but Fisk now had a Righteous Smite back in his inventory as he activated skill capture. Plus, now he had the attention of various people who had watched an immortal heed his command.

  Hm… I need more mana. Fisk said to himself, noting that while he had a powerful skill, it could only be used once, leaving him out of mana and out of options if the fight continued.

  In short, Fisk needed levels.

  Which meant hunting, which meant quests. Which meant stocking up and getting armored. Aka, back to what he was doing before being rudely interrupted by the yellow furry.

  Fisk opened the forums, reading over the posts describing his fire sale of player gear while skimming over the others that complained about losing their loot.

  Then, Fisk saw a thread that made him frown.

  One Leg= Nobody??? By LetJungKook

  -I Used observe on One Leg and it came back as Nobody? Is one leg a dev posting as a player? By LetJungKook

  -Proof? By CooperTrooper

  -Ya know now that I've noticed it, nobody and one leg haven't been seen in the place together. By Pokemain

  -Thats not proof. By CooperTrooper

  -He also has the berry seller from Liurnia with him. I think she's pretty. By KoiAI

  -Go Simp Elsewhere. By BraveExivius.

  -I used observe on him as well and it said nobody, me and my friend saw him in the capital though. By AlostDog.

  -So did a dev bully a player lol? By SuperTrooper

  Wait, they think I'm a dev?

  The thread was gaining traction, dozens of players commenting and arguing as they speculated about his identity.

  For once, Fisk decided to not comment, instead letting the pot fester and stew as he prepared for his next actions.

  With his skill acquisition taken care of, Fisk turned, entering the guild hall to select a new job.

  For now, the griffin raid would have to wait, at least until he racked up some favor with the locals and some coin in his purse.

  “Wow! We have so much money now!” Faith exclaimed, carrying in her arms a large bag of gold coins and bars. “We can pay off the debt!”

  Fisk furrowed his brow, checking the billboard of quests available.

  “Yeah, no, I've got a better idea,” Fisk replied.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, first, we'll pick up a quest to get our feet wet, then we'll go out to finish shopping,” Fisk said before looking at Faith who was positively glowing as her eyes darted between Fisk and the guild board.

  Fisk sighed, “How about you pick the first quest.”

  “Really?” Faith said before grabbing a listing without waiting for Fisk to reply.

  “Boarish dungeon? You want to go dungeon delving?” Fisk asked, a task usually relegated to parties of three to four.

  “Why not? I've always wanted to go to a dungeon and plus! It's the hallmark of every adventure! The dungeons are always needing to be thinned out so it's a perfect mission for aspiring adventurers!”

  “You are way to excited for this,” Fisk muttered, not finding the same enthusiasm Faith had for diving into danger.

  “How can you not be!” Faith said, grabbing Fisk and shaking him back and forth as his eyes tracked Crimson wandering nearby wearing a chef’s apron.

  “Fine, we’ll do this job, but…”

  “But?”

  “We gotta go shopping,” Fisk said as Faith broke out in a wide smile.

  ****

  Unfortunately, most shops that Fisk visited refused his business, the ones that did accept him, racked up their prices, charging double-sometimes triple for wares that were just common rarity.

  Maybe I should just craft… Fisk scowled, leaving from a store with Faith fully kitted out in New armor and gear.

  “Wow! This armor is so lightweight! And so pretty!” Faith exclaimed, twirling in her manella skirt that was layered by chainmail with stockings made of leather and padded iron over her chest.

  In her hands, a simple wood staff, one that according to Faith allowed her to focus her spells.

  “I still think we should buy you pants and gauntlets, maybe heavier armor,” Fisk said, eyeing the woman's exposed snow-white thighs that pushed against the tight leather stockings she wore.

  “For the last time, I can't! Too much metal interferes with my spell casting, if I wear heavier armor I won't be able to utilize my spells or heal!” Faith protested as Fisk grumbled. Faith did a twirl, “Plus I think it's cute, even if they clash with the tassets you wanted.”

  Faith shifted her hip, pointing one of the pieces of metal that hung off her hips to protect her thighs at Fisk.

  “I'm trying to protect you, this is for survival, not fashion,” Fisk countered.

  “Yeah, but what about you? You're only wearing a chest plate,” Faith saiding pointing out his lack of gear.

  Fisk had chosen a simple iron chest plate, one that gave him a flat damage reduction in exchange for a portion of his stamina.

  There was also a steel bucklar in his office hand, perhaps the most expensive item he had that could be used to deflect attacks and punch.

  At the end of it all, all Fisk had was five thousand coins to his name.

  “I can handle myself,” Fisk replied as a growl echoed out, one from Faith that stopped whatever argument the woman was about to let out. “Right, we should eat.”

  “Sorry…” Faith said, trudging along with Fisk who went in search of food.

  Above, a lithe figure in wrags narrowed her eyes, the woman’s green eyes looking down at Fisk and Faith as they walked through the streets, both unaware that they were being stalked by a woman out for revenge.