CHAPTER 12: FIRST PAY

Peter arrived at the hospital with a change of clothes. After Silva got into them, they finalized their discharge and left the hospital.

Silva walked out of the front door with his head low, the bright light of the sun washing over his face.

Peter stood behind him, he placed his hand on Silva’s shoulder. "So what’s the plan now, bro?" Peter asked.

"To move ahead, it was one setback," Silva responded.

"Calling you almost dying a setback is diabolical, bro, but I understand. Your responsibilities never vanished, and even after everything, you still have to face them," Peter said.

"Yeah," Silva nodded. "I’ll be heading to the guild first, I have a little to do there. Can you text me the address of the home that my sister is in? I’ll want to head there later," Silva said. Peter nodded, and they went their separate ways.

He was already in town, so it didn’t take much for him to get to the guild. But as he walked there, he could tell that someone was following him. The person had been following ever since he left the hospital.

He kept walking, ignoring the person until it got to the point where he couldn’t anymore. So he turned around, only to find no one; the person had merged into the crowd of people going about their way.

"Tch." Silva turned around and walked into the guild. As soon as he got in, he started hearing discussions happening, and some were still on the incident of the gate. A news of that magnitude wasn’t something that could be buried in a few days.

He walked past them, not wanting to meet anyone’s gaze. He headed straight to the counter and then dug into his pocket, pulling out the core of the Minotaur. He placed it on the counter.

The moment the receptionist looked down, her eyes widened. She looked up at Silva, then looked back at the crystal.

"Sir, is that a monster core?" she asked.

"Yes," he replied.

"One of that size is definitely a low-level monster. Please, may I see your guild card?" she asked.

"Do I need to give you that before I can sell?" he asked. If he showed that he was nothing more than an F-rank, she would begin to question the origin of the core, and he didn’t want that right now. He just wanted an in and out.

"Uhm, no you do not. We can blind buy, but that will cut the cost by ten percent," she said.

"Huh? Why?" Silva asked.

"Well, we take it that since you don’t want to show us your card, it means that you are not registered. Because recently there are many solo organizations raiding gates, and they come here to try and sell for a good price. So we set the percentage cut," she explained.

Silva listened to everything, let out a deep breath, and then pulled out his card. He placed it on the counter.

"I can’t afford such a cut right now," he said.

The moment she took his card and looked at it, her face shifted into a frown. She looked at the core and then looked at him. "You are an F-rank?" she asked in a very unusual tone.

"Yes, I am," he replied, short and straight to the point.

"There is no way someone of your level could have entered the gate required to get this core," she said.

’Shit, exactly what I didn’t want. I’ll have to lie my way out of this one,’ Silva thought. He looked at her and spoke.

"My friend is a high-level awakened. He gifted it to me for my birthday, and I want to sell it," Silva said.

She stared at him for a few seconds, then looked at the core. "I’ll have to process this and get you the money. Do you want cash or transfer to your account?" she asked.

"To my account," Silva replied.

"Alright then, give me five minutes. I’ll be back," she said, carrying the core to an inner room. She stayed there for a while, and then Silva got an alert.

(5,000 Credits transferred to account)

He looked at it, his eyes shining bright already, but before he could admire it further, the door of the inner room opened and she returned.

"It has been sent to you. Thank you for the business," she said. He nodded and left the guild.

The moment he stepped out, he allowed the happiness to take control, a smile plastered on his face. He pulled out his phone and looked at the alert.

When last did he have so much money in his account?

’I’m taking Ella out tonight. I’ll give her an all-you-can-eat buffet for sure. Should I invite Peter? No, just me and her today, she deserves it,’ Silva thought.

He hailed a taxi quickly, and a car pulled up in front of him. He opened the door and got in. The taxi driver was a middle-aged man with a full beard.

"Where are you headed to?" the driver asked.

Silva pulled out his phone and looked at the address.

"Uhm, the Winston Plaza," he replied. The driver nodded, pressed a screen inside the taxi, and immediately a holographic map of the city showed up.

"Winston Plaza," the driver said, and the inbuilt AI of the car mapped out the best route to the place. He started driving, heading there as fast as he could.

Five minutes later they arrived. Silva walked out in front of a fifteen-story building, beautiful and magnificent.

’The guild went all out to get us a place to stay. I’m not even sure I can enter here without getting questioned,’ Silva said. He decided to try and call Ella first.