The fluorescent light buzzed overhead. Marcus was wearing a dark-blue uniform with a barely-stitched-on name tag behind the counter at Copenhagen Gear Supply. He was quietly ringing up a pompous C-Rank Hunter off his enchanted boots.
Two more hours and my shift would finally end, he whispered.
"You're really living the dream, huh, Marcus? Slaying barcodes. Truly fearsome," Anomaly said, dripping with sarcasm.
He has been requesting for a dungeon raid request but Marcus declined it explaining they need proper paperwork, identification, rank and party to start raiding the dungeon in Berlin. Marcus was too broke to care of his request.
Marcus gritted his teeth.
"Not now. Please," he said calmly.
"Aw come on, Aly. This is hilarious. Look at him, warrior of shadows, breaker of system…and offering discount coupons." Fang mocked.
Marcus ignored Fang's remark and forced a smile to his customer. The hunter looked creeped out and quickly left.
"You two are going to get me fired," he said, muttering under his breath.
"Oh no. Not this damn below minimum wage prison cell. However, we will cope."
"Hey, at least this place sells daggers. Maybe one of those shiny and expensive daggers over there won't cry when you touch it, Boss. Maybe I need to upgrade and-"
"Shut up," Marcus said, annoyed.
The store's bell chimed. A tall man walked in draped in a custom dark leather cloak embroidered with hunter emblems and rank sigils. He was Rank A hunter, judging by the golden fang etched into his pauldron.
Marcus barely looked up from the counter.
"Welcome. Let me know if you need-"
"I need nothing from a clerk with no aura you're barely worth the floor you mop," the hunter who entered the store insulted Marcus.
Fang growled in Marcus's head.
"Let me bite his boss, just a small bite."
"Permission to dismember him," Anomaly seconded. "Accidentally, of course."
Marcus shut the two of them and calmly tapped the register and was too tired to argue.
"That cloak you're wearing has a defect. The stitching near the spineplate was off. If you're actually hunting, that'll get you killed," he said, commenting to the hunter's cloak. Marcus had learned everything about defect gears and he knew the risk of wearing one.
The hunter scoffed.
"You think you're better than me?"
"Oh he does. But keep pretending, it's cute," Anomaly snarked in Marcus' head.
Marcus held the hunter's gaze. He was not angry and not even afraid. He was just tired of people looking down on him.
"You're not the first A-rank to talk down to me. But you will be the first to ignore a warning and get stabbed through the spine."
The hunter felt a slight shift of air surrounding Marcus. The hunter felt a goosebump of someone watching him, waiting for the sour words that would exit his mouth.
The hunter blinked. He shut his mouth and left with his defective cloak. He swore something was behind the depressed looking boy. It was something, something stirred fear within him.
Fang whistled.
"Hot damn. That was sexy. Smooth and slow clap sexy," he praised.
"Was that a heartbeat spike? Hmm? Not quite fear but maybe awakening pride?" Anomaly commented.
Marcus rolled his eyes before going back to work.
"Shut up, both of you."
The shop had gone quiet. Most of the hunters cleared out before dark. The neon sign outside flickered, casting a dim light across the aisles.
Bethany, Marcus' only co-worker, leaned against the shelf where Marcus was working, chewing on a chocolate bar. She was short and yet had a sharp-tongue.
The first time she saw Marcus, she crept out. Not only was he a weird-looking emo boy, but she had the feeling that there was something in him that felt odd, too odd not to be ignored. Since then, she has become observant and wary of him.
Bethany narrowed her eyes.
"So," she started. "You didn't flinch when Russ, the Rank A spine collector, barked in your face. Are you planning to die soon, or are you…are you just built differently?"
Marcus looked up at Bethany, heaving a sigh before he continued wiping the same spot on the counter.
"He was just being overly dramatic." He said.
Bethany narrowed her eyes.
"You didn't even blink. You gave him that quiet psychopath look. And then he just left. Russ never backed down. He stabbed people for less."
Marcus shrugged. He really never gives a damn about Russ' reputation. All he cared about was how to survive with his daily needs now that money was crucial.
"Maybe he isn't feeling stabby today," he replied.
She raised a brow.
"Right. And maybe I'm secretly in a battle with my trust issues."
"She's funny," Anomaly said in Marcus' head. "Make sure to kill her."
"Nah, I like her! She'd scream sweetly." Fang admitted like he was mentally drooling.
Marcus rolled his eyes internally.
"You know what, Beth? You're just overthinking it."
Bethany walked closer to him, lowering her voice.
"You didn't have mana last week. Your scanner still reads non-awakened. But today? When you walked past the Mana Reader? The thing flickered."
Marcus froze for a split second.
"Aye! She noticed," Anomaly said matter-of-factly.
"I guess we should relocate her. What do you think about the other dimension?" Fang said, running in a lot of ways to stab Bethany.
Marcus forced a tired smile.
"Probably it was just a glitch."
Bethany didn't smile back. She knew something really weird about Marcus.
"Just don't get weird on me, okay? I've seen too many clerks turn psycho after awakening. One second you're restocking grenades, the next second you're making them explode."
Marcus just nodded to end the discussion.
"Noted," he replied.
As Bethany started to wear her apron, she called out.
"I'm watching you, Marcus. Go and have a break."
Anomaly laugh.
"Damn it. I like her. Can we keep her?"
"Nah, she's too nosy, I'll pass. Who's in favor of getting rid of her? Fang answered.
The two continued bickering about whether to keep Bethany alive or kill her.
Marcus grabbed a chocolate bar and went straight to the 'staff only' room. Marcus leaned back slowly into the cheap plastic chair, which creaked beneath him due to his weight. His eyes were distant now, unfocused after the conversation between him and Bethany. She absolutely saw something in him. Now, his eyes were fixed on his half-eaten protein bar.
He wanted to know everything.
"Anomaly, what's Tactical Management System really for?" He asked. His voice came low and unsure.
There was a brief silence, and then he heard a clearing of the throat.
"Now that's a question I never expect to hear from you."