Ascending Endlessly: I Copy Skills

I quickly cashed in my gloam crystals and collected my payout. I wanted to move fast. There wasn't much else that would be useful for me here in Matherstown. I'd already cleared out both of its dungeons, after all, and evaluated my strength within C-Rank.

Of course, I could just keep collecting C-Rank skills until the end of time, but that wouldn't do much for me besides giving me greater survivability. I wanted to reach higher, and for that, I would have to move up to using B-Rank skills as quickly as possible. 

I had to try and find people who had transport out of the city. Of course, I had no connections here, so this could be a bit of a challenge. To my knowledge, Matherstown was a bit of a closed economy. There weren't any significant imports or exports, with the agriculture done within the sanctuary capable of sustaining the population's resource demands.

The only trade I was aware of was done with Oasis, and of course, I had no intentions of returning there. So, where would I be able to find travel? The Order's transport was out of the question. Not only did I have a grudge against the organization as a whole, but I really wanted to avoid entering their scrutiny as much as possible. The less time spent in the embassy, the better.

I supposed that the best course of action would be to ask around. I decided to start with Callahan, the blacksmith.

A bell chimed as I entered his shop.

"Just a moment, then,"

I heard his voice echoing from a back room. He emerged shortly after with a bucket of scrap metal.

"Aye, it's you! Yer alive then, lad. I thought ye might have been on the train that was destroyed by that Goliath,"

He said, putting down the bucket and removing his gloves. He pulled a rag from his pocket and wiped his forehead with it before leaning over the counter.

"What can I do for ya, then? Haven't broken me knife already, have ye?"

He said, chuckling sarcastically.

"Of course not. I'm here to ask for information. I'm trying to get out of this city."

I responded. He shook his head.

"Spooked by the Goliath too, eh? I couldn't sleep for two nights when I heard it'd happened so close. I don't blame ye. As for transportation out of the city..."

He rubbed his chin, pondering on the question.

"Passage to Oasis is pretty simple. Convoy of men comes by once or twice a month to drop off their metals,"

I sighed.

"No, I want to head further south. I was thinking of Morel as my next stop."

He thought hard again for another minute.

"Only option I can think of is The Order. They shift their members around between the sanctuaries quite a bit. Can't imagine that's a good option for you, however... ah! The Orion Company is moving south, I think. Heard about it a few days back. Might do well to check with them, see if ye can hitch a ride."

Well, this was more fruitful of a visit than I had anticipated.

"Thanks, Callahan. I appreciate it,"

I said as I waved, turning and leaving. Now I had to go find wherever the Orion Company was headquartered. It seemed they were pretty reputable in the area. After asking around a bit, I managed to find their address from a local courier. 

Eventually I made my way to a small office wedged between a restaurant and a set of apartments. It wasn't anything extravagant; most of these mercenary companies weren't. They were more actionable in the dungeons than in the office.

I walked up and opened the front door. Inside was a secretary sitting behind a small desk. I approached her.

"Hi, how can I help you?"

She looked up from some kind of spreadsheet and asked me. 

"I heard you're moving to another sanctuary. It happens that I'm also looking for transportation down south. I'd be willing to pay for transport. Is there anyone here who can take that request?"

She smiled and stood up.

"I'll go ask Mr. Price. You just wait here."

Well, alright. I took a seat in one of three chairs which were placed against the wall of the small space. I waited as she entered a room down a hall past the desk, emerging several minutes later with a man in a grey Italian suit. He approached me, and I stood.

"David Price. And you are?"

He asked, extending his hand.

"Mason Ford,"

I responded, accepting the handshake.

"Follow me to my office."

He gestured for me to follow behind him as he moved back towards the door from which he'd just before come out of. We entered his office, just a bit smaller than the reception area. It seemed that there were very few administrative employees in this company; I only saw one other door on the other side of the reception desk. He sat down, and I followed suit.

"I understand that you'd like to travel with us?"

He asked.

"Yes, I'm looking for a way to Morel. I heard you're heading south, too. Is this something that could be arranged?"

He smiled.

"Certainly. We're already planning a stop there. We have twenty men total, fourteen hunters and six administrators. We can make room for one more. The convoy leaves in ten days. As for pricing... it will not be cheap, Mr. Ford. Our trucks are all equipped with advanced air filtration systems for the trip there, and are specially designed to be as airtight as we could make them. You understand that this isn't cheap travel, I'm sure,"

He rambled on about it all before eventually getting to the price. Wow, it would cost me almost everything I'd just made just for the trip there. It wasn't really a problem, but I wanted to see if I could lower the cost at all if possible.

"I'm also equipped with a B-Rank skill capable of filtering the air in a large enough radius for the entire convoy to breathe freely. I'd be happy to agree to use it as a failsafe for a price reduction,"

I said, crossing my arms. I wasn't sure he'd go for it. Still in the end, he did give me a slight reduction. It was only around fifteen percent off, but he seemed to be much more comfortable with me being there as a failsafe now that he knew about my skill. Of course, I had to briefly demonstrate it first.

Well, the fact that he didn't give me more of a discount only went to show how confident he was in their transportation. I was kind of curious as to why they were moving, but I didn't bother to ask. It wasn't really any of my business.

So, I just had to wait ten days. I suppose I could grind a bit more money out of the dungeon, and take a short break to recoup mentally before heading out on a dangerous journey. If I didn't have anything better to do, the C-Rank dungeon wasn't a bad way to pass the time, even if the gains from it weren't incredible. 

Well, for tonight, at least, I would enjoy myself. I had just conquered C-Rank; I think that deserved a celebration, especially considering how far I'd come since possessing meager F-Rank strength. So, I meandered about until I found a decent looking bar.

Even though I had some money, I didn't want to go anywhere fancy. I would always feel more comfortable in a little hole-in-the-wall, and that's precisely where I ended up. For the first time in a couple weeks, I drank the night away, not to escape my problems but, for once, to celebrate. It was fun. I had some good conversations with some other guys in the bar, and was feeling quite relaxed.

That was, at least, until I felt a heavy hand on my shoulder. I turned my head.

"What do you want?"

My words slurred a little. I'd drank quite a bit, and I was tired.

"I fucking knew that was you... Mason Ford, you slimy fuck. I thought you were out in hiding. I didn't believe it when I heard you were here in this very town,"

Now I was interested. I turned my head all the way around, ready to curse out whoever was bothering me. However, the second I turned to face the guy, a fist came flying towards my face. I was too drunk to react properly, and my head slammed down into the bar behind me.

"Get the fuck up. We're going outside. I'm going to fucking kill you,"

I looked up and groaned. However, the punch had sobered me up a bit. I started cycling some mana through my body, trying to get my adrenaline pumping so I could be more alert. Why did crazy shit always happen when I drank?

I checked out the guy who'd punched me's face. He didn't look familiar. However, his suit jacket had the familiar emblem of The Order emblazoned on its lapel.

"Ah, fuck."

It looked like I'd have to fight this guy.