Reliving The Past ~ Mage Of The Abyss 3 Chapter 3 ~ Starting The Engine

The sky is so blue, and the streets, the buildings… all covered by the mild clouds.

Walking down the crowded streets here, makes me feel anxious.

There are so many punks here, oddly enough, they seem to ignore me. Weird, even though I already have a shower, maybe I still need to use soap or something. I thought to myself, 'Maybe they're just minding their own business' I shook my head, 'No, I'm sure it's not because I'm smelly' convincing myself that was not the possibility.

Still, even though it's a Desolated Sector, many people went around looking for a breather. 'Lively as always... well, not really' I thought.

Why am I going out?

I need to do something outside… to look for a rental, there is someone I want to call. I couldn't find anyone in the main street that offers the service, and looking around a bit further, I found myself in the train pa.s.sageway, though there are none over there too.

Phone rental services are rare. Since it's not much of a profitable business for someone to have, they don't offer much gain of income.

So, I went to look for one in the park. Word on the street is that the Merchant is there.

The park is filled with people, but it seems they're not here to enjoy the sunny day nor do they look for a breather— no, they're here for business.

Guns, drugs, and just about anything that screams illegal are out in the open here and they casually do the exchange without a care in the world. There is almost no security, but if one were to break the law... Well, let's just say something really bad is going to happen.

My appearance is that of a nerdy commoner kid so they might look down on me. However, I still have my past life experience and I know how to act properly. Wouldn't want to accidentally offend someone, that would be bad.

A guy is sitting down under a tree over there with some stuff lying around, I approached him.

Of course, I know who that is. People call him… the Merchant.

The Merchant is selling just about anything, and all kinds of service, though just not that kind of service. His collection may not be at the top best, but you won't find anyone else that is like him.

"Hey, bud" I greeted him.

"Whatchu need, gal? Got all kinds of things here" he said.

Bending down as I spoke, "Do any call service?"

"Sure, sure, which sector?"

"High Sect, 3rd Row"

The Merchant stroke his beard, he paused for a moment, "… Hmm, 8 bucks" (8$)

I thought to myself, 'd.a.m.n" and so, I tried to negotiate, "How about—"

But before I finish, the merchant uttered, "Seven"

I still think it was too expensive and he was about to lower it again, but I stopped him, saying that I'll take it. I don't want to make an enemy with someone that will surely be useful for me in the future.

I took the phone from his hand, and then dial a number.

Standing behind a tree, I rest my back to its body.

I'm calling my aunt, she's the only one that is friendly towards me and I'm sure she would help me with my money problem.

…

"No!" said the voice on the phone

"B-But, Aunt Linda…"

"I said no, goodness, it hasn't been long since you disgrace the name of our family and now, you're asking us for money?"

Panicked, I was. .h.i.t with a truly unexpected response.

Cute Distress Mode Activated, "B-But... I really need it… Auntie, can you please help me, I promise I will return it later"

"Humph! You always say that, and you still haven't returned the money previously!"

Guh, I took phantom damage. It felt like I was being punched in the stomach. "Th-That was… well…" stuttering as I tried to answer her. I thought, 'I couldn't deny it! I forgot that in this timeline I still owe her the 30mil!'

"When your mother not giving you things, you always turn to me. What am I, your back up storage or something? Should I remind you that…"

Well, it's true that I always borrowed money from her but always forgot to return it...

And so, the usual Lecture of Aunt Linda started.

Aunt Linda has been taking care of me for as long as I can remember, and she even stood up when I was about to be kicked out of the house, unfortunately to no avail…

I got kicked out of the Family Tree instead, pretty much losing just about everything.

A few moments later.

"… and that is why you should think before you act!"

I feel like I went limp, "… Yes, Auntie. I understand"

Lifeless.

"Humph! Good. I will transfer the money, but remember… this is the last one, princess"

My eyes glitter after hearing the sound of that. I said, "Yes, Auntie, I promise this will be the last one!" I clenched my fist in joy and said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!! I love you, Auntie"

"Alright, Alright. I'll be hanging up now, do take care of yourself, Siola"

"Yes, Auntie, I will. Goodbye"

I hung up, and then returned the phone to the Merchant, it seems he's not bothered that I took so long on the phone, but still, I took out my purse and put another dollar in his can.

He smiled.

We both nodded to each other, and then I left the park to check my bank account, there is an ATM nearby and so, the amount of money I have is exactly 100.000$ right now. Mumbling to myself, "With this, I can buy it. Hmm... I wonder where I can, oh! There is one over there"

I didn't need to look around since one of the Store chains is just there on the other side of the road, the Store— I mean the Company, it is called Kuro, which randomly named after one of the employees working there, I wonder why they decided to do something like that.

Maybe they are too lazy to think up a name?

Well, I guess n.o.body but them knows why. They didn't talk about it at all but that.

The security here is top-notch unlike anything else here in the Sector. Aside from the Cyber-Hounds, there's even a Tracker here, the Latest and Greatest Humanoid-Android ever created, well more on that later.

I went in and bought the Capsule; the lady is quite nice to me too.

Delivery is fast since it is using underground transport which is exclusive to electric-type transportation and in this case... A large Tesla Cybertruck.

And so, I arrived home and the workers start working on the installation. The size is just what you'd expect it filled 1/3 of my room and it took only a few hours to install, they sure do work fast. The workers left as soon as it is done without saying any word.

A bit fun fact, this Capsule already has everything already built in it, so I won't need to pay for any additional bills.

Well, I still need to eat though.

And of course, I went out to eat lunch first before going in, wouldn't want my gaming to be interrupted by something like that.

This Capsule is a Low-Tier of the generation, the cheapest among the rest of the Capsule, and it won't give me a lot of nutrition whilst inside.

Two days is the time limit for it before it goes on charging mode, but a day in the game equals an hour in real life. So, I can play without worries… at least for a while.

That's what amazing about Ekolia, one can simply just exchange their sleep to dream and play inside this game for 7-10 days straight instead, and you only spent 7-10 hours in the real life. While resting, it will relieve your fatigue as well, so when one woke up, they would feel refreshed as if they have just gone to sleep.

Truly revolutionary technology aside from living robots. Though being Healthy is another thing, people are still required to exercise and train their bodies properly.

The alternative for that is quite pricy…

Even though I did the alternative too, I still exercise from time to time. The alternative I was talking about is, of course, buying the more expensive version of the Capsule and yes, Body Modification.

Obviously, the latter is not possible for me at the moment.

After I bought some groceries, I cook up a simple meal. Salted eggs and rice, it tasted good and that's what matters.

Afterward, I looked back to the Capsule.

I took a deep breath. "Alright, this is it… the thing that can turn my life around"

Pressing my hand against its metal plate, it feels smooth and nice to the touch, even though it's the oldest one.

One can truly feel the pa.s.sion the Devs put into it when they are making this.

Sticking my cheeks against the gla.s.sy lid, I caress it.

Never have I used this kind of cheap Capsule; it makes me kind of nervous.

I locked the house door, barred the windows, and then strip naked before going into it— it's optional to go in naked, but I don't want to risk my clothes dripping wet... and this time I mean it in a lot of ways.

The lid is closing in.

*Fwoosh* The sound of air pumping out

"Ooh yeah, that sound hits me real good… what was the word again?... ahh yes, Nostalgic"

"Hahaa, I feel like I'm at home"

"Baby, I'm at 200% right now"

"Hehe, let's skip the foreplay"

*Z-i-i-i-n-g*

The Capsule is now scanning me, it's going to take just a moment.

It's verifying to make sure if it's me who is currently using it, and not anyone else. Unlike those Capsule in hospital, normal ones like this one can only register one person and that person alone can use the device.

This is used to prevent exploitation.

I swallowed my cold saliva and spoke in high octane spirit, "Yes, PLEASE!"

The log in usually done instantaneously, well that was my High-end Rig.

A smile cracked on my face as my eyes widened, antic.i.p.ating the moment that is about to come, and savoring every moment that I have right now.

Then, A few minutes later…

Everything went dark

...

Quick Note:

(Family Tree: Household, or in this case "Mithra" name. Siola still keeps the name but cannot use it under any kinds of circ.u.mstances, even though she still has the name, she is now unrelated to Mithra Household.)