35 Loan II

The next day didn't come fast enough. When Noah finally regained full control of his mind and lifted the pillow, the sun was low in the horizon once more. It was early dawn, by his estimate. He sat upright and leaned back, letting his head thunk against the wall. The events of the previous day ran through his head and a frown scrawled across Noah's face.

"What the hell happened to my body?"

Noah scoured his memories to see if he'd somehow missed something in his pained haze, but nothing came to mind. He hadn't found the wrong spot because the monkey he'd killed and the dagger were still there. His body had just disappeared, and there was absolutely no clue as to where it had gone.

He started to stand, then froze, his heart jumping in his chest as he saw the bulbous eyes of a Chucker staring at him from the shadows of his room. Noah leapt to his feet, his heart thundering.

There was nothing there. It was just an empty corner. He pressed a hand to his chest and leaned against the wall, squeezing his eyes shut and letting out a slow, heavy breath through pursed lips.

He took a few moments before opening his eyes again. He'd been fighting far too many monkeys recently. Maybe they were haunting him.

"Well, I hope whatever ate my body had a good snack," Noah grumbled. "I've got to be single handedly keeping half of the monkeys in that damn forest alive."

His annoyance didn't last long, and the frown was quickly replaced by a satisfied grin. Todd and Isabel had performed incredibly well. He'd been concerned that they might have been unwilling to push themselves too hard, but both had put everything they had into the task. There was no doubt in his mind that he'd be able to prepare them to pass the exam coming in three weeks.

I'm going to undo all the damage Vermil has done and then some. Todd and Isabel are too hard working to get shafted like this. Anyone who puts the work into succeeding should have an equal shot at it. Besides, it's ridiculous that the school doesn't provide shields to students with all of those ones they had lying around in the arena. Even if those don't work outside the arena, I'm sure they could afford to have some loaners. I don't see how other instructors are going about things if everyone is too scared to fight monsters without shields. Do only wealthy students get good educations?

Noah stood up and paced across his room, moving more from habit than by intention, and pulled open his closet. His nose scrunched in annoyance. He'd gotten his clothes ruined so many times that there was only a single set left.

"Damn it. I'm going to need to get more, but I've still yet to find any money in Vermil's room. Wasn't this guy supposed to be a trust fund baby? Where's all my money? I wonder if there are banks here. I need to find someone to annoy with questions."

Noah chewed his lower lip. As far as he could remember, the map didn't have a bank on it. He didn't exactly have a lot of options on who to speak with about things either. Asking his own students how to get paid felt a little low, even for him. And, aside from them, the only people he'd spoken to were Tim, Moxie, and Richard.

He was willing to bet that Richard despised him, and Moxie wasn't much better. Tim was an option, but he was also working and asking the old man too many questions was probably a poor idea. He struck Noah as a little too talkative to trust with secrets.

Well, I guess Moxie's pretty close. If that Skinwalker she was chasing got to my room, she would have to live near me. Maybe she's home.

Noah headed out into the hall and in the direction that Moxie had come from when he'd been attacked by the Skinwalker, scanning the nameplates on the doors as he passed them. It took several minutes, but he quickly found his target.

"Aha," Noah said, coming to a stop before a nameplate engraved Magus Moxie. The door, just like all the others in the hall, was plain stone. He raised his hand and rapped on the door.

Several seconds passed. He heard some shuffling from within the room, but nobody responded to his knock. Noah frowned and knocked again, harder this time.

"What do you want?" Moxie's voice snapped from the other side. "I'm busy. Who is it?"

"Important delivery," Noah drawled.

There was a moment of silence. The door clicked and Moxie pulled it open. Her eyes narrowed at Noah.

"You. What do you want?"

"I decided I had more questions."

"That's not part of our deal. There's nothing between us." Moxie glowered at Noah. "Get lost."

"Just one quick question," Noah promised, bracing his foot against the door before Moxie could slam it in his face. She pressed her lips together and raised an eyebrow.

"What, are you going to beg? It probably won't do you much good, but it would be fun to watch."

"You really seem to have a grudge against me," Noah said. "Would you be more receptive to letting me in if I were a Skinwalker? You seem to have a soft spot for those."

Moxie's cheeks reddened in embarrassment and anger. "Not the best way to convince someone to help you."

"But it's a great way to annoy you, and I'm not leaving until you answer my question."

Moxie ground her teeth together. She let go of the door and crossed her arms. "This is why everyone hates you, Vermil. What do you want?"

"Where's my money?"

"What? I don't owe you shit."

"Not you. My money. Like, the money that actually belongs to me," Noah said. Moxie's stare remained flat. "My pay. You know? The thing we receive in exchange for goods and services?"

"I know what money is," Moxie snapped. "Did you seriously blow through your monthly pay already?"

"Well, it's more that I can't seem to figure out where it is. You remember those slight memory loss issues I told you about, right? I can't find any money in my room."

If there's any sort of bank in the area, Moxie will probably call me an idiot for not trying to use it.

"You lost your money," Moxie said flatly. "Or you spent all of it. And now you're trying to make excuses as to where it went."

No mention of a bank. Good thing I didn't bring it up, then. I guess people just keep their coin sitting around in their rooms, which begs the question – why didn't Vermil have anything? Wasn't he supposed to be rich?

"Yup. You got me. While we're on the topic, I've also managed to destroy all of my clothes. Do you know where I can get more made?"

Moxie stared at him. When it became clear that Noah was serious, she ran a hand through her hair and let out a heavy sigh.

"How incompetent can you be?"

"Do you want a demonstration?"

"I'll pass. What do you want from me, Vermil? You'll get paid again at the start of the month, which is in a week."

"How about a loan?" Noah offered.

"You can't be serious. You're asking me for money? Really?"

"A loan. I'll give it back."

Moxie glared at him. "And you ask me? Of every single person you could have approached, you come to me?"

Noah looked to either side, then shrugged. "I guess. You're just that trustworthy. I'm too scummy to get anyone else to speak to me. Only you've shown me such pity, and I must beg to take advantage of it one more time. Your kind, giving reputation precedes you. Besides, you're strong enough to beat the money out of me at the start of the month if I don't pay you back."

Moxie rolled her eyes. "Please stop. I'm going to throw up if I hear any more compliments come out of your greasy mouth. Fine. I'll give you enough to get by if you promise to leave immediately and not bother me again. Deal?"

Aha. The good 'ole ego stroke. Never fails to succeed.

"Deal," Noah said, extending a hand.

Moxie stared at it distastefully, then turned and slammed the door in his face. It reopened a few seconds later and she tossed a small leather bag at Noah. He snagged it and Moxie made a shooing motion.

"Get lost. You got what you wanted."

"Thanks," Noah said with a cheerful grin. He turned on his heel and strode away, whistling to himself. Back on Earth, he'd never had enough money to do anything more than shop at secondhand stores and even that was a rare treat.

Now, he couldn't even think on what he actually needed the money for. No, things were different here. Killing monsters gave sustenance through their energy, and he'd discovered a free teacher mess hall a few days ago, between his trips to the Scorched Acres.

That meant he could spend money on whatever he wanted to – and right now, Noah needed some new clothes.