“So anyway~! I think I scrubbed away most of the rads by now. I gotta head home before my parents figure out I’ve been using the Asura Box without their permission again…”

A huge black and yellow wasp was zooming through the complex and dark tunnels, occasionally it would crash into a wall and pass straight through. Other times, it would get stopped by the glowing green crystals inside or crash into random ghosts that were loitering around. Of course, normal spirits would be torn to shreds without even slowing the Legendary Entomologist Wraith down slightly!

“Crystal of Verde Village, my granddaughter, I summon you to Jimmy’s Pawn Shop on West Baldo Street!”

“Aww~! How’d you die, Peri?! Was it Verna?”

“What? No, of course not!” Peridot snickered and scratched her messy blonde hair, the hardhat had already long since disappeared. Then she sighed and explained, “It was the freaking government! We were assassinated by a freaking Legendary Anthropologist! I mean, we killed him eventually, but Ollie was dying… So I saved him. I hope.”

Peridot looked at the golden coin in her hand. There was a skeleton head on one side and a mountain on the other. There were also words, ‘Greenheart City Gold Dollar’, ‘Greenstone Mountain Legal Tender’, ‘Property of Greenstone Mountain’, ‘Minted in 4187’. 

“Ollie… I have a secret.”

In the dimly illuminated storage room, Peridot was gently caressing Oliver’s dirty left cheek. Well, the two of them were both covered in all kinds of dirt, blood and dust. Their bodies were bruised, battered, but in particular, Oliver looked like he was already dead… But his chest was still rising and falling faintly.

“That bitch Verna… She’s probably the only one that knows. But… *Sniffle* Ollie… I’m sorry. I’m a Thief.”

The dying man didn’t show much of a reaction. She wasn’t sure if he was even conscious or not in the first place.

“Take me there!”

“Girl, you gotta be more specific.”

“Just, open up a portal and let’s go!”

“Are you sure about that?” Xenos smirked and watched the ‘little’ woman’s cringing face, “Teleportation is expensive.”

“How much gold?”

Chapter 1: Losing Money