Chapter 31: System Upgrades

Chapter 31: Chapter 31: System Upgrades

The heavy plasteel blast doors of the Sub-Level 3 safehouse provided absolute, impenetrable silence from the outside world. Unfortunately for Donald, they did absolutely nothing to block out the sounds coming from the bunker’s small industrial bathroom.

With his newly leveled stats, Donald’s hearing was incredibly sharp. Too sharp. Sitting on a cold metal crate in the center of the massive room, he could clearly hear the hiss of the hot water hitting the concrete shower floor. He could hear the soft, soapy slide of hands over wet skin. He could hear Evelyn letting out a long, very relaxed sigh.

Donald squeezed his eyes shut, his face burning completely red. He forcefully grabbed the heavy, thirty-pound Type-3 Pile Bunker and began field-stripping it on the table just to give his hands something to do that didn’t involve too much friction.

Focus on the portfolio, Donald, he chanted mentally, violently wiping a perfectly clean gear with a rag. You are a professional. Stop imagining the soap.

Desperate for a distraction, he stood up and walked over to the back wall of the bunker. During his quick scan with the [Valuation Eye], he had noticed an old, dust-covered Guild requisition terminal bolted to the concrete. It was an antiquated system used back when the warehouse above was an active dungeon-diving logistics hub, but the green light on the console indicated it still had a hardline connection to the Mid-City surplus network.

He pulled the black, encrypted cred-drive out of his pocket—the one holding their remaining 65,000 credits—and slotted it into the terminal.

The screen flickered to life, bathing Donald’s face in a pale green glow.

He didn’t have time to go shopping in person, and leaving the bunker right now was a tactical error. The Mid-City network featured an automated, anonymous drone delivery system that dropped high-value items into secure, lead-lined pneumatic chutes.

"Alright," Donald muttered, tapping the physical keyboard. "Time to spend some."

First on the list was base defense. The blast doors were strong, but the old ventilation shafts were a weak point. He navigated to the magical warding section and selected an ’Aegis-7 Proximity Ward’. It was an automated defense array that fired lasers at any unauthorized mana signatures entering a ten-foot radius.

[Item Selected: Aegis-7 Proximity Ward.]

[Cost: 15,000 Credits.]

[Purchase Confirmed. Delivery in 30 minutes.]

Donald didn’t even wince at the price. He was playing with Silas’s money.

Next was the most important asset: Evelyn. She couldn’t keep fighting Lesser Vampires in a torn leather jacket. She needed real armour, but she also needed her B-Rank mobility. Heavy iron plate would just slow her down.

He filtered the search for high-tier, lightweight magical armor. He skipped past the bulky, corporate-stamped gear and found a surplus listing from an elite mercenary company that had gone bankrupt.

[Item Selected: Obsidian Vanguard Suit (B-Rank).]

[Description: A form-fitting combat suit crafted from refined Monster spider-silk and dark-steel micro-mesh. Highly resistant to piercing damage and magical corrosion. Conforms perfectly to the wearer’s physical dimensions.]

[Cost: 35,000 Credits.]

Donald hit the buy button immediately. The screen flashed, confirming the massive transaction. He had just spent 50,000 credits in three minutes, leaving him with a comfortable 15,000 in reserve.

As the transaction cleared, Donald’s golden System interface violently hijacked his vision. The glow of the terminal was completely overwritten by bright, triumphant golden text.

[System Milestone Reached!]

[Total Capital Invested in Target ’Evelyn Vance’ has exceeded 50,000 Credits!]

[New Passive Skill Acquired:]

[Compound Interest (Passive): Stat bonuses increase by 15% when fighting in proximity to a heavily invested Target.]

[New Active Skill Acquired:]

[Fireball (C-Rank)]

[Description: convert mana into a highly volatile, compressed sphere of fire. Detonates upon impact. A classic for a reason.]

Donald stared at the golden text, his jaw dropping open.

"A fireball," Donald whispered, holding his hands up in the dim light of the bunker. "I actually got a magic spell."

Up until this point, all of his skills had been supportive, perceptive, or purely physical. He was a brawler and a tactician. But now, he had a genuine, ranged magical attack.

He focused his 41 Mana, picturing a spark in his palm. Instantly, a bright, roaring sphere of pure orange and yellow fire snapped into existence above his open hand. It cast flickering, dramatic shadows across the concrete walls. He could feel the intense heat radiating from it, but the flames didn’t burn his skin.

"I’m a wizard," Donald breathed, a massive, goofy grin spreading across his face.

"If you set off the fire suppression system in our new house, I am going to make you sleep in the hallway."

Donald jumped, nearly dropping the fireball on his own foot. He quickly closed his hand, extinguishing the magic, and spun around.

Evelyn was leaning against the doorframe of the bathroom.

Donald’s brain instantly flatlined.

Because they didn’t have any spare clothes yet, Evelyn had helped herself to the only clean garment available: Donald’s spare gray long-sleeve shirt from his shopping bag. On Donald, the shirt was fitted. On Evelyn, it was incredibly loose around the shoulders, but it stopped dangerously high on her thighs, leaving her long legs completely bare. The thin, gray fabric clung tightly to the damp, heavy curves of her chest, making it abundantly clear that she wasn’t wearing anything underneath.

She was vigorously towel-drying her dark hair, a completely innocent action that somehow looked devastatingly and lethally sexual.

"S-Sorry," Donald stammered, frantically looking at the ceiling, the floor, the terminal—anywhere but her legs. "I...was just checking my interface."

Evelyn stopped drying her hair and let the towel drape around her neck. She noticed his frantic eye movements and the deep red flush on his cheeks. A slow, incredibly wicked smirk curled her lips.

"You know, for a low rank who just stared down a C-Rank gang boss without blinking, you get flustered very easily, Donald," she teased, walking slowly across the room. Her bare feet made soft padding sounds against the concrete.

"I’m not flustered," Donald lied terribly, his voice cracking slightly. "I was just... looking at the logistics network."

Evelyn stopped right in front of him, close enough that he could smell the cheap hotel soap she had found in the bathroom and the clean, natural scent of her damp skin. She leaned in, her blue eyes dancing with amusement.

"Uh-huh," she purred, looking pointedly at the sweat forming on his forehead. "So, what did the logistics network tell you, muscle boy? Find us a new way to get killed?"

Donald swallowed hard, forcing himself to look her in the eyes. "I bought you armor. B-Rank Obsidian Vanguard Armour. And a proximity ward for the bunker. It’s coming down the chute in twenty minutes."

Evelyn’s teasing smile softened into genuine surprise and warmth. "Obsidian-VA? Kid, that’s top-tier mercenary gear. That must have cost a fortune."

"It’s an investment," Donald said, finally finding a shred of his confidence. "Plus, I got a new passive buff that makes me stronger when I fight next to you. And... it gave me an active attack skill."

Evelyn raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "Oh? I’m not sure what you mean but What kind of attack?"

Donald couldn’t help the excited grin that broke through his embarrassment. He snapped his fingers, and a small, tennis-ball-sized fireball floated playfully over his thumb like a trick lighter.

"C-Rank Fireball," Donald announced proudly.

Evelyn laughed, a rich, genuine sound that echoed warmly in the bunker. "A Fireball? Really? It’s so basic. You levelled up and got the most generic spell in the textbook?"

"Hey, don’t knock the classics," Donald chuckled, extinguishing the flame. The adrenaline crash of the night was finally settling in, replaced by a giddy, relaxed exhaustion. He looked at Evelyn, leaning back against the terminal. "Besides, I think it’s perfectly thematic."

"How is a fireball thematic for an Investor?"

"Well," Donald grinned, feeling a rare moment of comedic timing. "We’re fighting Wildfire. And that guy was a Lesser Vampire. Vampires fear daylight, right? So, they’re going to burn under the gaze of the righteous."

Evelyn stared at him for a second.

"Or," Donald added, shrugging, "they’ll just burn from a C-Rank fireball to the face. Either way, I consider it a win."

Evelyn threw her head back and laughed out loud, holding her stomach. The sound was incredibly bright in the dreary concrete room. For the first time since he met her in that dark, rainy alley, she looked completely free of the heavy trauma weighing down her shoulders.

"You are such a dork, Donald," she laughed, stepping forward and playfully shoving his solid shoulder. "A terrifying, heavy-hitting, obscenely rich dork."

Donald smiled, the tension in his chest finally unwinding. They were deep underground, hunted by the deadliest assassins in the city, but standing here with her, listening to her laugh, Donald had never felt safer.