Apocalypse Rebate: Spoiling Beauties Makes Me Richer!

Looking at a holographic display of a full-body suit with a facemask slowly rotating in a rectangular glass cuboid placed on a podium of sorts, Bruce glanced at the name written, which read...

Tier-2 Suit

Smiling at the sight, he calmly declared.

"I’ll take this one."

A bit surprised by this, the receptionist enquired, a hint of worry and uncertainty evident on her face as she did.

"Are you sure, Sir? That Suit costs quite a bit for a Novice Hunter, and is more suited for higher Ranked Hunters, as they tend to take on more physically demanding and combat-oriented Quests. So, it was designed to promote easier mobility and flexibility while equipped, without affecting the Hunter’s combat ability, while also offering significant defensive capabilities against Mana Radiations and damage control."

Pausing as she gestured to a different Hunter Suit near the one he’d chosen, she added.

"Personally, I’d recommend the Tier-1 Suit for Novice Hunters, as it’s more affordable for newbies, and has a special offer for newbies that aren’t able to afford it. Enabling them to rent the Suit for free, while simply taking a 12% share of whatever it is you bring back from outside the City, as well as a 15% share from the rewards offered at the completion of a Quest registered. A pretty generous deal, if I might add."

Nearly feeling the urge to retort at her suggestion, Bruce couldn’t help but think as he struggled to compose himself.

’Generous offer? More like daylight robbery! There’s barely anything left if you take 15% of the rewards that were practically supposed to be shared by a group of at least 5 people, in most cases.’

Considering most Novice Hunters tended to travel in groups, this meant they also had to split the rewards received from Quest completion amongst themselves.

Meaning, if each one rented a Tier-1 Suit, they’d have to share 15% of a reward that was barely enough for them already with the Hunter Association as well. Leaving them with very little to go on at the end of the day.

Calming down soon after, Bruce was already aware that this was also a way to help out Newbie Hunters from humble backgrounds that weren’t able to afford the two hundred thousand Kepto needed to purchase the Suit, without the Association suffering a loss in the process.

With these in mind, he wasn’t bothered by the price, as it wasn’t like he couldn’t afford it if he were truly interested.

Instead, it was something else entirely that made him lose interest in the Tier-1 Suit.

Glancing at the holographic design of the Suit, which was an abysmal mix between an Astronaut suit and a Scuba Set, Bruce couldn’t help but shudder at the sight.

Not only was it not suited for the persona he was currently trying to portray, it also greatly diminished one’s mobility and flexibility. A huge oxygen tank of nearly a meter and a half long rested on the back, while a full-blown face mask with visor covered the top section. Limiting one’s visibility significantly as well.

The design was clearly made for lower Ranked Hunters that focused on more mundane and less demanding sorts of Quests.

Shifting his gaze back to the Tier-2 Suit, which complemented most of the previous Tier’s shortcomings, Bruce made up his mind on purchasing it.

Not only did the facemask prioritize covering the lower half of his face, while offering a thin, invisible layer of protection against Mana Radiations throughout the body, it also didn’t have a huge oxygen tank fixed at the back.

Instead, two shoulder assemblies which resembled a sort of mildly inflated shoulder pads resting on each shoulder served as a miniaturized integrated SCBA system.

The shoulder assemblies stored a reservoir of highly compressed air, which fed breathable air through multiple narrow tubes running within the Suit and into the sealed mask. The tubes, indicated by dim glowing streamlines on the Suit’s surfaces, also regulated the compressed air pressure into safe breathing pressure while maintaining and channelling positive pressure within the sealed mask and preventing the surrounding Mana-contaminated atmosphere from entering.

Though she’d stated that it was better suited for higher Ranked Hunters, there wasn’t a Rank requirement to purchase the Suit.

’Now that I think about it, where exactly did higher Ranking start for Hunters?’

A sudden thought popped into his head as he was admiring the design of the Suit.

According to his memories, Hunters were Ranked from weak to strong, namely:

Novice Hunter » Junior Hunter » Senior Hunter » Apt Hunter » Veteran Hunter » Elite Hunter » Master Hunter » Grand-Master Hunter.

With each Rank requiring a certain Level to be reached before being accepted as a Hunter of such Rank.

Though, he wasn’t exactly sure what Rank Naomi was, but based on the Instructors of the Gym being referred to as Elite, he figured she had to be an Elite Rank at least.

Shaking off the random thought upon realizing he’d gotten distracted, Bruce decided to purchase the Tier-2 Suit.

Upon making the transaction, to the mild surprise of the receptionist, he was given the Suit after a while by the receptionist.

’Good thing I hadn’t given that scrawny old fox the amount he previously demanded. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have had any loan left to purchase this.’

Secretly relieved at his earlier decision while in the Dark Sections, Bruce sighed in relief at the thought.

Glancing at the amount displayed on his OmniBand, he realized he only had a few thousand Kepto left from the amount he’d borrowed from the Loansharks yesterday.

Having spent most of it on flashy weapons, equipment, and the Spatial Bracelet he wore, there wasn’t much left now.

’Best use the rest to buy some mining equipment before heading out.’

With this in mind, he simply thanked the receptionist one last time before leaving.

Meanwhile, as he did...

The receptionist, having returned to her previous position behind the standing glass screen, sighed deeply as she rested her head on her desk.

Inching closer to her, the receptionist next to her whispered in a voice audible only to them as she pried.

"Soo... How’d it go?"

Confused as to what she meant, the receptionist raised an eyebrow.

"How’d what go?"

"Oh, come on! You know exactly what I mean."

"If I did, would I still be asking you?"

Shaking her head on realizing her co-worker was trying to act oblivious, the nosy receptionist added.

"I mean, how’d it go with the handsome young Hunter?" Her smile widening upon saying this, she added. "Don’t even try to wave it off, I know you’re at least interested, right? I mean, did you see that face? Eeeee!!!! I’m feeling hot just thinking of it."

Shrieking lightly as she whispered, the nosy receptionist continued.

"Not only did you take him to the Hunter Suit Section personally, but you even went as far as handing him the Suit directly, instead of giving him the token he’d use to collect it at the far ends of the Association. You can’t tell me that was for nothing. ’Cause you were clearly trying to make an impression on him."

Understanding what her co-worker meant by this, as they weren’t required to follow Hunters to the Suit Section, but were simply to direct them there, while the Association AI System would provide an audible explanation of each item upon touching it.

Instead, she’d gone herself to explain it to him, even going as far as to personally give him the Suit upon purchase, a privilege often reserved for High Ranking Hunters.

Yet, she’d done it for a mere newbie, a Novice Rank at that. So it was understandable that her actions were misread by her co-worker.

Sighing deeply once more, she muttered to herself.

"If only he were a bit older and sharp, then he would’ve been perfect."

Not bothering to reply to her co-worker, the receptionist became lost in thought as she simply stared in a daze in no particular direction.

Unaware of the drama that had ensued behind him, Bruce casually exited the Hunter Association before finally heading out of the City.

A while later...

Standing in front of an enormous hemispherical barrier, a figure wearing a peculiar Suit made his way towards a certain direction.

Glancing back at the Barrier, which easily dwarfed his entire frame, Bruce couldn’t help but shake his head at the sight.

"Damn! That shit is huge."

Having gone through a number of different checkpoints before finally being given permission to exit the City, he became aware of just how difficult it was to leave the City, as well as the absurd amount of defensive barriers that made it near impossible for anything to go in or out of the City without permission.

"It seems only Hunters or highly influential figures are the only ones that can leave as they please though."

Concluding this, based on the amount of times the checkpoints had to verify his Hunter ID while confirming if he was sent by anyone in particular, he realized this was most likely the case.

With the former probably only being capable of exiting it while taking on Quests or the likes.

Shifting his gaze to his OmniBand, which now displayed a GPS map of his current location in respect to his destination, a means developed by the Association to help Hunters reach their Quest location quickly without wasting their oxygen supply, Bruce followed the GPS provided.

Which had been installed into his OmniBand upon completion of the purchase of his Tier-2 Suit.

As he made his way there, he became aware of the contrast between the City and what lay beyond its barriers.

The sight easily met the standards he’d expected upon learning that the world he was currently residing in was a Post-apocalyptic one.

With most of the buildings having degraded from decades, if not centuries, of neglect and destruction. Whereas, rubbles and vine-like vegetation filled the crater-ridden streets and damaged buildings around.

While the air itself appeared mildly obscured by a thin, mist-like atmosphere as far as the eye could see.

"Mana Radiation!"

Absent-mindedly, Bruce couldn’t help but mutter upon seeing it directly.

Though impeding visibility a bit, based on what he’d heard, this was a whole lot better than the Mana Radiations near an active Rift. As the Mana appeared to be denser around those regions, while visibility was extremely terrible as well.

A few hours later, Bruce finally reached his destination.

Staring at the sight before him, which resembled a huge cave protruding from the ground itself.

Its depth, dark and eerie, led deep into the ground like an Abyssal pit to hell.

Briefly taking in the sight, Bruce gently tightened his grip on the hilt of his sword before heading into the Whispering Caves...