After taking care of the two rare items the party went through the rest of the loot. The surprises didn't end yet. Cyclone flipped her hand and revealed a small book, tattered and with only a few sites.
Her friends instantly recognized the skillbook. Everyone stared at Cyclone eagerly.
The young woman teased her friends for a few seconds until they looked as if they were about to beat her up. Only then did she hurriedly reveal the skill.
It had the simple name of [Seven Rocks] and even its description sounded rather boring. The skill user would shoot seven rocks at the target, each of them causing some additional earth damage.
Its only interesting part was that the skill's damage would increase with every subsequent hit. However, boring doesn't necessarily equal bad. If one managed to land all seven rocks the skill would be quite powerful.
When the friends learned the skill's specifics they didn't need to discuss for long. The skill went directly to Watchful Eye. He was the most suitable. If Watchful Eye could gather more set equipment his elemental damage was expected to increase considerably.
Giving away three rare items Cyclone's enthusiasm faded. She skimmed through the rest of the loot without finding anything exciting and placed it all in the guild treasury.
"The loot was quite good, though.", said Balm.
Quickstep agreed with a nod:
"We deserve it after how difficult the fight was."
The other friends shared her opinion. They talked among themselves. Exhaustion was apparent on their faces and some yawns were mixed in.
A strange atmosphere settled. Although they still had time to continue, no one was eager to make the first step. Eventually Liam suggested to end it here for the day.
The friends were somewhat conflicted. On one hand a sense of duty compelled them to forge ahead but on the other hand they knew that resting would be the wisest choice.
Eventually everyone agreed one by one after a few more yawns came from all sides.
"Rarf!"
Just as the party was prepared to go offline, a questioning bark rang out. Silent Acacia looked towards the side of the square opposite the elevator. A street began there which led towards the edge of the floor.
At the beginning of the street stood Fellfell. The dog had already been impatient since the players talked for so long. But now that the adventurers were even prepared to leave, he couldn't help but call out to them.
"Sorry Fellfell. We will return tomorrow, ok?", said Silent Acacia gently.
"Rarf!"
Fellfell's eyes contained a hint of dissatisfaction. Unfortunately, he was unable to influence the party's decision. The said goodbye before going offline, leaving the poor Fellfell alone in the dwarven city.
When Liam arrived back home, he was alone in the apartment. He went to the kitchen and enjoyed a refreshing iced tea. This was something produced by their sponsor Cider, who sent him more than he could ever finish.
Just as he savoured the fruity taste a message reached him through the console. It came from Silver Blade who invited him to discuss the plans for their gaming house.
Although Liam trusted the professionals of Colville Construction he was still greatly interested and readily agreed.
A few minutes later a luxurious black car parked in front of Merida's clinic. Liam came out after shaking off his sister who pestered him after he explained her where he was going. Serena gradually developed a love for cooking and told Liam to make sure that they would have a big kitchen.
At first Liam found it amusing but when Serena said that she wanted a kitchen so big and filled with food that they would never have to go hungry again, Liam felt a pain in his heart. He gently reassured his sister that he would take care of it.
Thus, Liam's mood was somewhat melancholic when he entered the car. But this quickly changed when he was greeted by the enthusiastic Cynthia.
It turned out that shortly after Silva messaged Liam, her bestest friend called and wanted to hang out.
Silva didn't think too much when she explained what her plans for the day were. But Cynthia was shocked. As the guild leader she naturally wanted to be part of the gaming house's planning phase.
Silva figured that it made sense. She apologized and invited Cynthia to join.
This led to the situation where Liam now sat next to the blond woman in the spacious limousine. The hover car drove for a while.
Although Liam had never been to the Colville Construction's office, he roughly knew its address from Silva. Thus, he was confused as they left the upper city.
When Liam voiced his confusion Cynthia stated that it was only natural that they had to fetch Mel as well.
Thus, they soon parked in front of a row of smaller family homes. A young woman with wavy red hair quickly came out of one of the houses. Her long, white jacket even resembled a healer's robe with some imagination. Contrary to Cynthia and Silva she didn't carry any jewellery.
Suddenly Liam noticed something out of the corner of his eyes. He looked towards a window on the upper floor. He spotted a middle-aged man with a face painted by hardships. As the man realized he had been discovered, he nodded with a gratified smile on his face.
Liam did not need to be a genius to figure out that this man must be Mel's father. He returned the nod before Mel entered the car and they drove off.
After their small detour the four friends finally arrived in front of Colville Construction's office. Silva smiled at her friends, leading them inside.
A thought suddenly came to Liam's mind:
"Now that I think about it. Although I am employed by your company I have never been here in the office."
"Well, you should count yourself lucky that we encourage remote work.", joked Silva.
Cyclone chuckled as she asked:
"What was your job? Marketing something?"
"I'm not sure myself."
Liam's response caused the friends to laugh as they headed for the elevator. Before they could press the button, a ding sounded out and the door opened.
Two men and a woman in suits appeared. Silva immediately fell silent as she stared towards the front. Time seemingly stood still.
Tap!
The sound of a footstep broke the atmosphere. It came from the man who just left the elevator. He had gelled-back brown hair. A pair of modern glasses sat on his straight nose. His demeanour was that of a person used to power.
When the man saw Silva, he put on a professional smile.
"Silva. What a surprise. Since your success in Crunaboul you rarely come to the office. What brings you here today?"
"Uncle Owen."
Although Silva didn't feel like exchanging a single word with her disgusting uncle, she still put on a fake smile. The family's affairs shouldn't be discussed in front of outsiders. Yet the distance between uncle and niece was apparent at a glance.
But Owen acted as if he didn't feel it. His eyes scanned Liam, Cynthia, and Mel, extending his greetings.
"Miss Meyenn, we haven't seen each other in a while."
Cynthia's eye twitched as she greeted simply:
"Hello."
Owen ignored her impoliteness and focused his eyes on Mel and Liam.
"And these are?"
Silva was sure her uncle already knew the answer to this question, responding offhandedly:
"Just two friends of mine."
A short grin flashed on Owen's face. Fortunately he didn't stay much longer after that and left with the man and woman behind him.
Cynthia scoffed at Owen's back as she entered the elevator with Silva and Mel. Suddenly she glanced over her shoulder, noticing that Liam stood there without moving.
"Liam?"
"Ah, coming..."
Liam suddenly snapped back to reality and followed his friends. But his mind remained chaotic. When he laid eyes on Owen, dark memories involuntarily surged into his mind.
He remembered those dark days when his parents first went missing. Suddenly people came to their door. They claimed that Liam's parents owed them a lot of money.
The first time these people came they were led by Owen. The next few times the people changed but the claim remained the same.
The young Liam was overwhelmed by the situation. He only wanted to keep his sister safe at that time until their parents returned.
But they never did...
These people continued to increase the pressure. They showed Liam documents as proof but how could a young child confirm their legitimacy?
Thus, he began to give those people things from their house. He just wanted them to go away.
But they always returned. Until Liam finally gave the entire house away.
Looking back there was an especially questionable point. Liam and Serena had been taken care of by a nanny. Instead of calling the police or an attorney the nanny even encouraged Liam to comply with Owen's demands. Otherwise, the situation might now have developed so drastically.
Now that he saw Owen again all those unpleasant memories broke into his mind like a tide. Liam gritted his teeth. He didn't even know that people could be this heartless.
I'm sorry for what happened to you, past Liam. Don't worry. I will soon wipe that ugly smile off Owen's face!