The Eternal Assassin

In all the time Asher had spent within Whikoga up until now, he'd never actually taken the time to simply… enjoy the city. Hopping from rooftop to rooftop or tracking down gang members was a far cry from hitting the various stores and wandering around all that the city had to offer. While Asher knew better than most at this point all the many issues the first and second rings held when one got far enough away from the main road, the central portions of the city were drastically different.

"Brian, stay close!" Samantha reminded him as they got to the main market of the second ring and he immediately tried to take off into the throng of people. Brian either didn't hear Samantha's warning or chose to ignore it in his excitement, because he practically vanished as he spotted a distant stall selling all sorts of different types of arrows and made a beeline for it.

"I'll keep an eye on him," Crush grunted, using his bulk to gently but firmly push the crowd aside as he went after the overeager twelve-year-old.

With Asher's hands out of commission and the Guild's hit on Crush finally done away with, Draken had volunteered Crush to help keep them safe in the unlikely event anything happened to them on their day out. The main portions of the city were patrolled by watchful guards and kept free of any gang influence, but Asher figured it was better to be safe than sorry and had happily accepted the offer. He liked Crush a lot, and the large elite had looked as though he'd been going stir crazy cooped up in Draken's manor the past few days for his own protection against the Guild.

Crush wasn't the fastest fighter, but the man's defensive skills were second to none. Asher felt fairly good about leaving Brian's safety in his hands, and there wasn't any chance of Brian actually getting lost in the city with his Eternal Mark on him.

"Crush will watch over him," he said, realizing Samantha was biting her lip in worry as her younger brother vanished from sight. "I promise you, plenty of areas of the city are dangerous, but the central market of the second ring is about as safe as it gets. If anyone so much as glances at someone else wrong here they'll have half a dozen guards on them in seconds."

"I'm sure… There's just so many people," Samantha muttered, leaning into him and gripping his arm tightly as another few people jostled past them. "I never imagined the city would be this big… Or this loud!"

"I feel you, most of the time I'm only really out and about at night!" He laughed, gently tugging her down one of the many lanes. "Come on, I've got shards to burn, and you've never been shopping in a real city. Let's take a look!"

The next few hours were some of the most fun Asher had had ever since coming to this new world. While he wasn't exactly the most comfortable being jostled around by large crowds, getting to see the look of awe and excitement on Samantha's face as they bounced from stall to stall more than made up for it. One curious thing he noticed was that unlike with large crowds back on Earth, people didn't seem quite so concerned about pickpockets running around. While they certainly still existed, hunting for valuables and loosely held items that might fetch a few shards, a person's shards themselves were naturally tucked away within each person's own being. It was a strange thought, that nobody had to risk tucking bands of cash within a secret pocket or hiding a few bucks within their sock for emergencies.

That said, there were still plenty of things that reminded him of Earth scattered throughout the market.

Despite the heavy guard presence, there were beggars lining the edges of the market, pleading with any who walked by to toss them a shard or two. There were musicians playing wondrous tunes every couple of rows, with a dedicated assistant moving around the listening crowd with their hand raised, encouraging people to donate. Asher even spotted a couple of young kids without their origin elements risking the ire of the guards and shopkeepers by snagging a few low-hanging fruits and darting off into the crowd without paying. To his surprise, rather than shout at them or give chase, one woman manning her stall that was just stolen from simply pulled out a few more fruits that looked a little more bruised than the rest on her display, before carefully placing them back down there within grabbing distance of the urchins.

While they took in the sights and sounds of the bustling market, Asher and Samantha snagged some hot skewers of meat to snack on as they walked around, and Asher was more than happy to let the hunter take the lead, laughing as he struggled to eat from her skewer she dangled in front of him due to his lack of fingers. After what had just happened to Horntho village, it was obvious she was doing her best to let the foreign chaos of the big city distract her, and he was more than happy to try to help.

Samantha spent a good twenty minutes perusing the insane variety of yarns and wools in one stall, picking out a collection of new colors and tools to replace the ones she'd lost with her cabin. Next, was a new set of skinning tools, these ones beautifully crafted and oiled, looking like a far step up from the hand-me downs she'd been using all these years. After that, they hit up some clothing stalls, where they picked out a new wardrobe not only for Samantha and Brian, but him as well.

Asher had tried to object, seeing as his intention was for this to be a day about them to help them recover some of the valuables they'd lost yesterday, but Samantha wasn't having any of it. Apparently, wearing the same two sets of old farming clothes just wasn't cutting it for him anymore, and Asher found himself walking away from that section of the market with a week's worth of clothes tucked away within his rift.

Other than a couple of simple daywear outfits that wouldn't make the guards stop and question his choice of apparel when he was just wandering around, he erred on the side of comfort and utility for his new wardrobe, going for darker colors that would help him blend in with the shadows. Rather than the loose, billowy cotton he'd been wearing, his new outfits were a form fitting leather that was pliable enough for him to move in, and should actually offer a modicum of protection as well. He even picked up two brand-new cloaks, seeing as his last one had been shredded to pieces by a few hundred mutated rats.

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Just as Samantha had given him her opinion on his daily wear, he helped her pick out clothing for Brian and herself. While there were plenty of different styles and fashions, Samantha had a rather firm understanding of what she wanted for her brother, and with the help of the friendly stall owner, they snagged a new wardrobe for Brian that was primarily filled with clothes that could be easily washed. For herself, she picked up a few new sets of hunting leathers and clothes that wouldn't be easily damaged from the toils of the dense forest.

She also surprised him by grabbing one or two more… intimate outfits offered by an elderly, giggling shop owner who wouldn't stop gushing about how cute the two of them were as a couple. Even more than the mental image of Samantha actually wearing what she'd picked out during their future alone time, the sight of her beet-red face as she shoved the packages into his chest and quietly begged him to hide them within his Personal Rift would stick with him forever.

Thank god they had Crush on babysitting duty.

Asher's Personal Rift got a real workout as they made their loops around the market. According to Crush, the second ring's central market was the most popular shopping spot in the entire city. The first ring was the place to go for custom orders and more detailed requests, as it was where the countless workshops were actually located, but if there were multiple things one had to buy and weren't too picky, nothing beat the second ring's open market.

The one thing the market distinctly did not have, however, was any sort of unique weaponry. Asher stopped by over a dozen different stalls displaying all sorts of weapons in the hopes of finding a replacement for his old mithral dagger that was now sitting in pieces with the greater demon's stomach, but it seemed looking for something like that here was a fool's errand. When he asked one of the shop owners, the man had all but laughed in his face, thinking it was a joke. It wasn't until he saw Asher's serious expression that he cleared his throat.

"You won't find anything of that quality within Whikoga. Except perhaps in the fourth ring, if one of the nobles would be willing to actually speak to you, much less sell one to you. Your best bet would be travelling to one of the cities closer to the capital, or to Dormaul directly. That's the kingdom's main source of metal and where the majority of the smiths reside."

While he wasn't all that surprised, Asher was a little saddened to learn it would be some time before he'd be able to find a replacement for his mithral dagger. His skills offered him remarkable utility, but he simply didn't have the punching power required to harm certain things without assistance. He knew relying on his mithral dagger so much was functionally relying on a handicap, but he didn't have any better options.

Now that it was gone, unless he figured one out, he'd be up a creek without a paddle the next time he had to fight something with defensive skills. Hell, he probably wouldn't even be able to take Crush down in a fight so long as the elite covered his eyes with his hands.

That wasn't to say he didn't pick up anything from the different weapon stalls, however. Even after a few hours of shopping, his Personal Rift was large enough now that it was still mostly empty space. While he'd snagged a bunch of miscellaneous back-up weapons from the Guild safehouse, none of them had been of particularly high quality. For that reason, he grabbed a brand new bandolier and a set of ten gleaming, high quality steel daggers to fill it. In fact, his new bandolier fit so well, he actually grabbed a back up as well, figuring it wouldn't be too long before he'd need yet another one.

As promised, the last stall of the day they hit up was one that specialized in jewelry. Samantha had done an excellent job of hiding it, but it was clear she'd been heartbroken to learn that he'd lost the enchanted ring he'd given her when confessing his love, and Asher was determined to find her a replacement. The kind, older gentleman that ran the shop answered all their questions in that quiet, confident voice that only experts in their craft seemed to have, before stepping back and letting them peruse his wares. Seeing as Asher was currently without fingers, he stood beside Samantha as she examined the many different pieces on display, offering his input when asked.

In the end, she picked out a simple but beautiful silver ring with a small, dark brown gem inlaid in it that matched the rich oak color of her eyes. She seemed more than happy with her purchase, but for the first time in his life, Asher had gotten a taste for what it felt like to be rich. After seeing how Samantha's eyes had flicked back to an entirely different piece a couple of times during her ring hunt, a matching silver necklace that looked like it was made of interlocking leaves, he asked the shop owner to include that as well, despite Samantha trying to reassure him she didn't need it.

By the time they reconnected with Crush and Brian, and Asher paid Crush for the shards the man had spent on Brian's behalf, evening was already upon them. From the multiple brand new wardrobes, to Samantha's skinning supplies and crochet materials, to his brand new weapons, and then the pieces of jewelry, Asher had managed to burn through an incredible sixteen thousand shards in all but one shopping trip. A truly exorbitant amount to spend in only a few hours for any normal citizen of Whikoga.

But only a drop in the bucket for him.

Shards: 352,147

Damn, shopping is fun when you're rich!

"Alright everyone, let's head back to Draken's before night falls," he decided, as he spotted many of the nearby shopkeepers having similar ideas, already getting to work packing up for the night.

"Do we have to go already?" Brian asked, barely able to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

"The shops are packing up, there's not really a point in us staying." Asher laughed. "Though tell you what, seeing as I spent the day shopping with Samantha, it's only fair I let you pick out some stuff you want as well. Let's come back tomorrow, and if you stick with us this time, I'll buy you whatever you want. Within reason."

Another day of shopping should be more than enough time for my right hand to fully regenerate, at the very least. Then we won't need to have Crush follow us everywhere for protection.

Brian's eyes lit up at Asher's open-ended promise, and he practically began vibrating with excitement.

"Great! Because I saw a stall that sold explosive arrows, and I want to see what happens when I fire one!"