Project Seraphina [LitRPG, Magitech, GL]
3.3 Grunge and Glitter

I seethe as we make our way out of the bank and start heading toward our ultimate destination. Apparently, as I didn’t realize at the time, I can’t just go in, deposit my check from the feds, and immediately take out half a million dollars in cold, hard, green pictures of Benjamin Franklin. Besides the fact that the bank simply doesn’t have that much cash on hand— I have no idea why I or anyone would assume the literal bank doesn’t keep cash on hand— there’s a whole bunch of anti-money laundering and similar statutes and regulatory rules governing the amount of money that I can actually take out.

And, to make matters worse, apparently a couple of eighteen year old girls walking in with six hundred grand from the feds is considered ‘suspicious’ and a transaction that ‘warrants additional scrutiny’.

At times like this, it is certainly a little bit tempting to simply hold the place up with my [Mechanical Arm Cannon]. But at the same time, Chloe would never go with it. And I’m trying— maybe not always succeeding, but trying— to not go all power-mad now that our term of service in the military has ended and we’re once again allowed to enjoy the finer trappings of civilization.

We continue on for about half an hour of stern but mostly civil discussion between myself and the branch manager, with Chloe doing her best to mediate and keep the pressure from reaching a boiling point. Eventually, it was decided that the checks, together with the letter, were sufficient to allow me to withdraw at least a portion of the balance. Ten thousand, to be specific. Not nearly as much as I was hoping to spend today, but a start. Still had to fill out all the anti-money laundering paperwork for the feds though.

And, as it turns out, ten thousand dollars in hundreds doesn’t actually look like all that much. Little enough to comfortably fit in my hand, not even as thick as my wrist.

“Sorry, Chloe,” I say. “That ring might have to wait a few more days.”

She glares at me.

“And sorry for kind of acting like an ass in there. I know it was no excuse, but I was frustrated.”

“Oh, no, you have every right to be frustrated. Just that the manager isn’t really the one who deserves your ire. At least you managed not to completely go off on the poor woman!”

The two of us take to the skies once more, earning more than a few looks from the people driving on the nearby street. Thankfully no car collisions, but there are a couple of near misses. It’s almost like they’ve never seen two girls holding hands in public or something!

Eventually, we find our way to a nearby pawn shop. We end up going to one of the nicer ones, relatively speaking. It’s still a dump, as all of them are, but it’s in a shopping center adjacent to one of the wealthier neighborhoods on the south side of town, nearer to where Chloe and her parents live. And I guess me as well.

There’s a pair of armed guards at the door. Pretty standard fare for establishments like these. Plenty of folks frequent these sorts of shops who have had run-ins with the law or engage in activities of questionable legality. What does surprise me is that the guns are treated with some rudimentary glyphs. I doubt they have even half of the [Attack] rating of my [Mechanical Arm Cannon], but it’s intriguing, and maybe a bit disturbing, how quickly Ethertech is getting integrated into mainstream society.

Worse still, the guards are leveled far more than I would expect of civilians. Level 20 or so, I imagine. High enough level to know that they’ve seen a few things. Not nearly high enough to fight Chloe and me— as amusing as the picture is, imagining two young women completely overwhelming two grizzled forty-somethings in a fight. But, we’re here on business, not to pick a fight. Though Chloe’s wand is at the ready, just in case a fight tries to pick us instead.

The dealer behind the counter looks upon us with a bit of suspicion, no doubt because a pair of waifish girls are hardly the stereotypical clientele of such an establishment. Or maybe he’s looking at my arm, or Chloe’s wand, or my wings. I have to assume he’s looking at my wings. Not taking them off though! Even if it does mean I have to wind around some of the narrower spaces in the small, gritty room.

“Welcome, welcome,” he says in a thick, southern drawl. “Can I help you two ladies find anything?”

Chloe’s eyes are wandering the establishment. A lot of electronics, most of them either brand spanking new or old as shit. A fair few antique firearms, some trading cards… Ooh, they have a black-bordered Black Lotus… Yeah, $8,000 might be a steal, but not what I’m here for today.

“Silver bullion,” I say. “And if there are any gemstones you have on offer, I’d be interested in taking a look. In particular, I’m looking for some opals, rubies, and maybe a few pearls if we can find them in our price range.

The man smiles, revealing a golden tooth in the back. “Please, ladies, I think I know just the thing.”

No doubt he intends to fleece us for all we’re worth. And I’m willing to play along. If he has connections to keep the materials flowing, I don’t mind working with him. At least pawnbrokers are mostly honest about their shadiness.

Not that I expect him to be working with black markets— most pawn shops, from what I understand, are rather above-board— but I can’t be sure he’s not, either. Especially given the weapons his guards have. I’d like to get some information on how they got the weapons they have. And more importantly, who is out there supplying them.

He moves over to a different counter and moves to some jewelry. In particular, there’s a large necklace adorned with… citrine, I want to say? Nope, yellow topaz, as the label says. Actually not sure what element yellow gemstone effects. A richer orange like a garnet identifies with Fire, though to a lesser potency when compared with rubies. I’m suspecting Earth-element, like amber… No, wait, amber is associated with magic with the [Nature] property. In either case, I don’t have any good spells that make use of it, though, so I’m not interested. It is pretty, though.

There is a pearl necklace in one of the cases that I might be interested in. However, at a price in the mid five figures, I’ll have to wait until next time, if that even is a good use of my money. However, the large ruby in the case next to it does attract my attention. And it’s priced at $2,000 for a four carat piece. I don’t know if that’s a steal or a ripoff. Still, I am interested. Though I won’t show it.

A few gold rings, mostly ten- and fourteen-karat gold, with a smattering of eighteen on the higher end. I bet that gold will be particularly good for Ethertech. The problem is that it’s simply too expensive, even with my current resources. I can’t burn close to two grand for a single ounce, when I can get over fifty of silver for the same price. Moreover, I’d want to buy bullion, rather than jewelry alloy.

In the future, I might need gold specifically for its high electrical conductivity— something I suspect might translate to high Ether conductivity as well. But not right now. At least, not today

To his credit, the broker isn’t being overly pushy. Whether that’s because 8:30 in the morning isn’t a particularly busy time for the store or because he fears losing the sale if he acts too sleazy, I’m not sure. That, or maybe he’s trying to bide his time for some reason. I can’t ignore that possibility. One doesn’t get to Level 20 without killing, and the guards outside didn’t look like they were familiar with the Scruples Department.

Finally, however, he does speak. And not to offer one of his wares, arousing my suspicion. “Those wings. Are they for sale?” he asks.

“No,” I state flatly.

“Two hundred thousand,” he says.

Now I’m intrigued. I doubt he saw me dropping out of the sky through the barred and heavily-tinted windows, but offering me two hundred thousand dollars without so much as a demonstration of their efficacy. Just what does he see in them? He has to be some sort of [Appraiser] or [Merchant] with special Skill. That, or he’s a [Mechanist] variant with the ability to see the glyphs and Ethertech potential of my wings.

“A hundred and thirty thousand for the arm?” he proffers.

“My prosthetics are not for sale, thank you very much!” I say, now more than a bit annoyed. “If you aren’t interested in selling me what I’m interested in, I’m sure there are no shortage of other stores that will.”

“A hundred and sixty thousand,” he counters, seemingly unconvinced that no means no.

I give him a momentary glare. Sadly, my [Angelic Insight] doesn’t cause my eyes to glow as my [Ethersight] used to. If it did, I would be using it right now to add to the intimidation factor.

One of the guards from outside wanders in. I tap Chloe on the small of the back, infusing her with [Angel’s Grace]. I don’t know if a fight is going to break out, and I certainly don’t want any trouble, but it seems that trouble is heading straight for me. Chloe seems to notice as well, using her [Angelic Sanctuary] or whatever it upgraded to in order to shield us from whatever unpleasantness might pop out at any moment. And given that the other guard has made his way inside as well, I suspect we’re going to have a fight on our hands sooner rather than later.

Two more guards emerge out of the back, and they’re just as armed as the other two. I really don’t like where this is going. I thought I was joking about the whole black market thing, but I may have actually stumbled upon some covert Ethertech black market. Might have to let Nicholas know if he’s aware of such a thing, as awful a thought of getting the military involved is. At least he’s mostly honorable, if manipulative as shit.

I subtly switch my [Mechanical Arm Cannon] into blasting mode, locking my wrist in place and activating the [Durability] glyphs along the barrel connecting my elbow joint to the tip of my index finger. None of the five seem to notice the subtle shift; whatever class they have must not come with any perception bonuses. Or maybe they just feel overconfident because they have a numerical advantage and a few pieces of third-rate Ethertech to protect their pasty asses.

Still, I let them state their nefarious intentions outright rather than getting trigger-happy. It might be a matter of nuance if things do come to blows, but I don’t want to be the person who starts shooting based on some nebulous ‘I feared for my life’ that could be resolved without bloodshed. Especially after I coat myself in [Etheric Armor], forming a golden translucent barrier around my body— including my left arm and wings thanks to [Cybernetic Body].

Chloe huddles close to me as the pawnbroker scowls at us. I can see the fear and the discomfort building in her eyes and trembling fingers. It’s been barely two days since dealing with the Order of the Wilds, and this was supposed to be a nice relaxing day off and a chance to decompress, maybe get something to celebrate our relationship.

I’ve gone from annoyed to furious. But, for Chloe’s sake, I will give them an opportunity to resolve this peacefully, without bloodshed. It’s what I want, and if they aren’t total idiots with a death wish, it’d be what they want too.