Daylight Robbery

It had only been a few minutes since walking behind Josh that Joe realized, he didn't know where they were going.

"Hey, Josh, where are we headed?"

"Well, to the Nine Towers of course. I work there, and you live there. Where else would we be going?"

Joe felt is logical so he kept quiet. Soon, they arrived at the borders of the village. There were several people keeping watch around the village.

"Hey Josh, why are those people standing here?"

"Well you see, out in the wide Artificial Continent, there lies mutated beasts who gain the power of magic. These guards strive to keep the place safe, or at least hold them off for a while. Not all of them are innately dangerous, but most people don't like to take that chance."

Joe kept silent as Josh walked about the border. He finally set his sights on a group of people with a wagon and walked towards them. They were quite far away from the guards near the border.

"Hey there. Where you people headed?" Josh opened up with a friendly wave as Joe followed behind.

The group comprised of a man and two women. The man warily looked at Josh. His danger senses were blaring at him that this was a dangerous person. "Why? What's it to you?"

Josh only shrugged his shoulders. "Well you see, I have somewhere I can go all by myself, but I got to get a friend there as well. I can't exactly take him back the same way I came, so I was hoping to hitch a ride."

"Of course, for a price." Josh made a motion with his hands as though insinuating he would pay them some good money.

Joe stood nearby while gulping. 'Am I going to have to pay for this too?'

The man's wariness visibly faded a bit, before speaking. "Well, I just so happen to be heading to Crag Town. I've got stuff to do there."

"Well then, it just so happens the place I've got to go happens to be near there. Why don't you give us a ride? It'll be worth your while." Josh put on a smile.

The man turned around and huddled between the two women. They seemingly contemplated together, before the man turned around with a response. "Alright then. We can give you a ride, but it'll cost you. Twenty Grams."

"Hey now, you're putting me in a tight spot with that kind of price." Josh suddenly frowned, with his brows tightly knit together.

The man smiled as though expecting this to happen. "Heh, well, if you can get me the tooth of the storm bull, I can waive the fee."

During this price negotiation, Joe was standing on the sidelines, with only one thought in mind.

'Do Grams stand for grandmas? Does that mean there are Great Grams, and Mas?'

Stuck with so much tension, it was only natural Joe tried to make himself laugh. By turning this currency into a kind of joke, he slightly relieved the tension on his mind.

Josh furrowed his brows at the man's request. "Well, I can get you the tooth, but I need a location. One cannot simply find a storm bull just like that."

"Sure, I know just the place. I can even give you a map." The man's smile only grew wider.

The man passed Josh a map. "Here. Take it. Get the tooth and come back. Unless you want to buy the spot with twenty Grams. I'll be waiting."

Josh frowned even harder. "What if I take the wagon by force? What makes you think I won't do that?"

"Well, the two ladies next to me aren't any regular women. They saw through you, although it was quite difficult for them. However, they saw that you were a kind person. You wouldn't possibly kill us innocents right?" The man was nearly grinning at this point.

Josh suddenly broke out into a grin. "Sorry, you've got the wrong guy."

He suddenly held out his hand, in a choking motion. The man and the women beside him were suddenly lifted into the air.

They grasped at their throats, which were being compressed by the air around them.

"Why? I could've sworn we saw through you..." The man spoke hoarsely, as air could not enter his body while his airways were closing.

Josh spoke coldly. "You merely saw what I wanted you to see. I knew you three were cultivating the Heart Peering technique, although only an inferior copy. I made it, so I should be able to test the people who learned it right? You are not worthy."

The man's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets, as the man's body slowly went cold. The women beside him had already died a while ago.

Josh let down his arm as Joe walked up to them. "What was that? Did you make a technique? Did you know those people? Why were you a receptionist?"

Joe felt this was a good time to mix in his personal questions with situational questions. He felt that Josh probably expected him to ask some questions, so he mixed in all his curiosity with it.

"Well, I guess you could say I was a bit of a rogue back in my younger days. I messed around, made a few techniques. Basically the norm for any Wizard who got their hands on a Scripture without being affiliated to a force."

Josh let out a sigh, as though reminiscing. It seemed odd, because he only looked a few years older than Joe.

"Anyways, my excitement died down, and I settled down in the Nine Towers, where I could live a life of peace. I'm a receptionist because it was a necessary job. What if someone came in without any regard for the rules and started making a fuss? Someone has to put them in their place, and a receptionist is just the right guy to do it."

Josh sighed again. "Well, we better get going. Hop on." He motioned for Joe to get onto the wagon.

When Joe got on the wagon, Josh pushed his finger on the front of the wagon. Suddenly, a control unit popped out.

"You better hold on tight!"

Upon shouting this exclamation, Josh pressed some buttons and moved some dials before the wagon made a jet engine-like sound.

Joe let out an squeak as the wagon began to accelerate. Although Joe didn't know exactly how fast they were going, Joe was sure it was over eighty miles an hour.

However, Joe barely felt any wind. It was as though there was a barrier shielding them from the wind outside. He could only feel that he was moving fast, and that his heart was beating frantically.

'This is one high tech wagon!'

…

About an hour passed on the barren land outside the village. Joe and Josh were still speeding their way through the plains in silence.

Josh was still adjusting some buttons and dials while Joe sat in silence. The initial shock of the high speed wagon faded after a while.

A few more minutes passed, and Joe could see the faint outline of a town, in the scale of the Artificial Continent that is.

Josh proclaimed loudly. "Hey! There it is! Crag Town! That means that we're on the right track. Even though it's been a few decades since I last came out, I still have a good sense of direction!"

Joe suddenly felt the large contrast from Josh's appearance to his real age. He was almost certainly a few decades older than Joe, yet he only looked a few years older than him.

Several more minutes passed before the outline of the town became solid. Joe could faintly see some lights from the tall buildings.

After about twenty minutes, they finally arrived at the border of the town. This town had proper walls, made of cement and stone. There was also something like an inspection gate.

Just as Joe was contemplating this, Josh patted him on the back. He looked at him an smiled. "Don't worry. The inspections won't do anything to you. They just check your face to see if you're a formerly registered criminal."

Joe showed little reaction to his pat on the back, and more awkwardness bloomed inside him.

After getting inspected, without any difficulties, they entered the town. They had to leave the wagon behind however, because it was stolen, and they didn't have a license to drive or own it.

When Joe asked Josh why he didn't have a license, he only said, "Well why would I need a license if I never leave the Tower? I used to have one, but I never got it renewed."

Joe walked behind Josh as he took the lead once more, leading Joe to a food stall. He ordered some meat skewers for the both of them before paying and leaving.

He passed one to Joe. "Here. Eat up. We've still got about another day's journey to get back to the Nine Towers."

Joe ate up his fill, as he walked with Josh and contemplated the recent happenings. Everything had happened so fast, barely leaving Joe any time to react.

Lost deep in thought, he began to feel the weight of the emotions he was suppressing. He felt sad for Amelia's death. He suddenly wanted to cry. However, he was quickly interrupted when Josh stopped in his tracks.