Chapter 34: Ar’Tazul the Merchant
Three men stood at the edge of the yard fifteen feet away, pointing handguns at Jack. Two looked like hoodlums. The third was Hugo, the slavic mafia man charged with watching the professor.
Jack stared down the gun barrel and didnt flinch. Instead, he grinned and cracked his knuckles. Hello, Hugo, he said. I see your walk has been productive. You found a few more dogs.
Hugos face was still as if cut from stone. I never got your name.
See those guns, Hugo? Thats called deadly force. If you use deadly force against me, I will use it against you, and you will die. I want that to be very clear.
Jacks fist was clenched, and an invisible, savage aura rolled out of him in waves. The goons by Hugos sideLevels 3 and 4, both members of Henrys Fangshivered. Their eyes flickered towards Hugo in hesitation, but he remained still as a rock.
Only one thing is absolute in this world, Hugo said. Bullets. Goodbye.
His gun spewed fire. The goons yelped; one dropped his gun from the sound; the other emptied his magazine in Jacks general direction.
At the same moment that Hugos finger clenched the trigger, Jack moved. His body flickered with speed, dashing sideways faster than the gunmen could react. Bullets flew left and right, passing by but not touching him.
He wasnt faster than bulletsyetbut he could calculate their trajectories from watching the guns.
The second goon managed to pick up his gun and start firing, trying to catch the blur that headed his way. He failed. Jack reached him, and a terrible slap almost emptied his mouth of teeth. He was unconscious before he even hit the floor.
Hugo was now behind the other goon, but Jack didnt care. He grabbed the goons gun from his hand, snapped it in half, and slapped the man hard enough to send him flying like a ballerina. He then stared at Hugo, who stared back.
Only the two of them were left. As they crossed eyes, Jack had stood still, and Hugo had three bullets remaining. He hadnt panicked and wasted them all before like his goons.
Jack saw the excitement in Hugos eyes. The gun danced in his hand as it spat death. The bullets dug into Jacks chest from almost point-blank, barely penetrating the skin before falling to the ground with a series of plinks.
Jack had been shot on purpose, of course. He was confident he could take the bullets, but how much damage would they deal?
Not much, was the answer. They felt like strong finger pokes.
Man Im Superman.
Hugos elation morphed into terror. His clean-shaven face went pale. He looked up at Jack in askance and immediately raised his hands, letting the gun hang from his finger. His lips shivered as he tried to speak.
Sorry, Hugo.
Jacks fist smashed into his face like a sledgehammer. Hugos head exploded, and his body hit the ground a beat later, covered by its own trenchcoat.
Jack gazed at his fist. He had just murdered a man. He could have shown mercy, but he didnt. Was thatbad?
The thing is, he felt nothing. No remorse, no regret, no doubts. His Dao had reinforced his resolve, and so had his multiple life-or-death experiences in the dungeon. Hugo had slapped Jacks foster mother and tried to kill him. Jack killed him back. It was natural. That was the law of strength, which apparently ruled the world now.
So what if he tried to surrender at the last moment? That shit was fake. He would plant a bullet in my eye the second he got the chance.
Jack looked around. There were people watching from the distance. A few were puking, some looked the other way, and a few were running away. A woman stared at him like he was a monster. Jack only snorted.
If they can try to kill me in broad daylight, with more people and guns, I can at least punch them back.
He shook his fist to get the blood away. Next stop, Henrys Fang.
There were definitely safer, more diplomatic options than simply storming in. However, like in the dungeon, Jack realized he'd had enough of being smart. Now, he wanted to be strongsimple and directand he had the power to do it. He wanted to strike ahead like a fist and make the world adapt to him instead of the opposite.
That was his life now. And if he died at some point, so be it. At least he had fun.
Heh. Fun. He chuckled, baring his teeth. I could get used to this.
After breaking the other guns as well, Jack stepped over the two unconscious thugs and out of the professors front yard. I should get that cleaned at some point he mused. He hadnt considered the issue before, but well, nothing he could do about it now. He was busy.
But wheres Henrys Fang? Well, shit. He didnt know. Thankfully, there were people nearby he could ask.
Jack paced to the group watching from afar, keeping his hands high to avoid scaring them. Most ran away, anyway, but a few remained.
Hello, he asked politely, Im looking for Henrys Fang. Can you tell me where they are?
Across the town. Theyve commandeered the hotel behind the town square. Valville Hotel, it was called.
Thanks.
The man who replied was in his fifties, with eyes that struggled between respect, hope, and disbelief. His lips were clenched as he watched Jack go. Hey! he finally shouted. Will you get them?
Jack looked behind his shoulder. He cracked a smile. You bet.
Information?
That, too, but I have more. Experience balls, skills, empty crystals, advanced weapons, even Dao Fruits I suspected there would be high-end customers on this planet, so I brought high-end goodsand you get them at Integration discount, mind you.
ArTazul winked, then retrieved a crystal from his robes. It was rhombus-shaped and pink, and it could barely fit in his small palm. He reached out, and Jack took the crystal. Now what? he thought, looking at it. The moment he had the question, a blue screen appeared before his face.
ArTazuls Store
Basic Information Package 500 credits
Advanced Information Package 3,000 credits
Simple weapons 10 credits
Small Firearms 20 credits
Experience Ball (tiny) 100 credits
Experience Ball (small) 300 credits
Experience Ball (medium) 1,000 credits
Experience Ball (large) 10,000 credits
Empty Crystal 20 credits
Dao Weapon (F-Grade) (made on demand, delivery times vary) 5,000 credits
Dao Fruit (F-Grade) 10,000 credits
There was also a large assortment of trinkets, electronic devices, medieval weapons, and names that Jack didnt recognize. There was even a section about Skills, and it included a bunch of stuff ranging anywhere from knitting, to advanced cybersecurity, to swordsmanship. There was the fistfighting skill, too, but it belonged to the top echelon price-wise, as did most melee combat skills. Skills were expensive overall, starting at a thousand credits and going up to five-digit numbers.
There were no Dao Skills, however.
Jack skimmed through the list briefly before returning the crystal to ArTazul.
Did anything catch your eye, my friend? asked the merchant, his eyes gleaming.
Im just in a hurry. Also, I have none of thesecredits.
Not a problem.
Without batting an eye, ArTazul handed Jack a small plaque made of green, transparent jade. The number 0 shone on its surface in clean white letters. Jack took it and turned it over. It looked pretty.
Heres a credit card. ArTazul smiled. Its free of charge; Integration benefits.
A credit card?
Exactly.
...I see. In any case, I still have zero credits. How do I gather them?
You sell things for credits, obviously; its the System currency used in most places throughout the galaxy. For example, we take a selection of monster parts; I have a brochure on that. Additionally, if you have any interesting items or premium information, I could give you a good deal
He looked on leadingly. Jack considered it. He did have a few things to sellexpensive ones, too. The Dao Fruit he had was listed in ArTazuls catalog as worth 10,000 credits, which, given the context, was a lot. He remembered the description.
Dao Fruit of the Fist (F-Grade)
Allows the user to enter a meditative nirvana state, where the speed of Dao cultivation is greatly increased. Breakthroughs are greatly assisted. This particular fruit is oriented towards the Dao Root of the Fist. Effects are reduced as the users Dao gets further away from the fist. Effects are reduced as the users Dao ascends beyond the Dao Root stage.
Only one Dao Fruit can be used per Grade.
Unfortunately, it sounded pretty damn useful and tailored specifically for him. Plus, Artazul had mentioned that the prices he saw were after the Integration discount was applied, whatever that was. In any case, selling the fruit sounded like a waste.
Which left the other reward hed gotten from the dungeon.
Trial Planet Token
Can allow one person into Trial Planet.
Hmm
