Eric didn’t bother with decency and showed his head in order to see if Aric was being truthful or if he had made a run for it. Eric was a bit demented, and a part of him wanted Aric to make a run so that he could torture him and show his superiority.
Aric, who had just returned, hid his pistol behind and looked straight into Eric’s eyes. Eric looked suspiciously at Aric but didn’t find any reason to reprimand him. This infuriated Eric more as he couldn’t find any reason to thrash Aric and shouted.
"You fucking slave, how dare you look into my eyes with no sense of fear..." Eric shouted and raised his hand high to slap Aric. But before his hand could even touch Aric’s cheek, he heard a small sound and felt a huge force being driven into his chest.
With the force, he fell back to the ground. He didn’t understand what was going on and looked up only to see a small silver-colored equipment in his hand with a barrel pointed at him.
"You piece of..." Eric wanted to curse more but he couldn’t complete his words as his eyes and words felt heavy, followed by a searing pain that put him to sleep almost instantly. Even in his last moments, Eric didn’t understand what was going on.
Meanwhile, Aric was breathing a bit heavily as he looked at Eric. He could see a massive hole in his chest, with the insides burnt out altogether, and that was the reason there was no blood splattered. Aric could also smell the burnt skin and flesh, which he had never smelled before, but now he knew the smell because it was revolting and almost made Aric vomit.
Maybe because he was also reeling from the fact that it was the first time he had killed someone. The thought didn’t antagonize him as he had expected and read about them. He only felt like justice had been served and this guy deserved it. After a moment of pause, he looked down at the body and started frisking the dead guy.
On the waist, he found a pouch. Without hesitation, he took up the pouch and opened it, and what he saw inside gave him a huge sense of joy. He found 5 gold coins, 13 silver, and 40 copper coins. He could tell that these coins were silver and gold because of his lens. The only thing he couldn’t tell was the purity of the items.
That would be taken care of easily. He looked through the dead body once more before vanishing from his place.
Echorysia
"Apis, wake up."
"At your service, Aric."
"Call a taxi, we are going back to the city."
"As you wish."
Aric got up and took large steps towards the main road. Soon a taxi came flying by and landed near Aric. He got inside, and within 15 minutes, he was back in the city again. During the journey, he evaluated his mistakes. He had been too bold in confronting them and let himself be captured.
He even got slapped due to it and thought he would be some kind of savior once he saw magic. This was the reason why he was captured because he thought he was being smart by hiding. This world was still unknown to him, just like the previous world, and thus he got captured. He needed to be more cautious and run the other way if he saw trouble.
Only when he had enough firepower should one try being a hero or savior. Before that, it was just plain stupid. As he was thinking that, the taxi stopped near a multiplex building. Aric had asked Apis where one could exchange goods like gold and silver. Apis had led him to this place as apparently the shops here were authentic and were backed by both Sora and Vallin civilizations. There were even other civilizations here, who had their shops.
After entering the huge supermarket which had multiple stores, he looked around. This place was beyond what he had ever hoped to see in his life. He already knew that he was in an interstellar civilization, but this was beyond belief. To his right, vibrant holographic projections danced around a stall selling artifacts about which he had no idea.
Turning left, he made his way past rows of shelves stacked with food containers of all shapes and sizes. He spotted a group of aliens gathered around a display of genetically engineered fruits; he could only tell that these were fruits because the lens gave him brief specifics.
Continuing down the aisle, Aric approached a section dedicated to technological marvels. Robots of various shapes and sizes stood on display, their sleek designs catching the light and reflecting it in dazzling patterns. One particularly advanced model caught his eye—a humanoid figure with glowing eyes and articulated limbs. It moved with a fluidity that seemed almost human.
Further down the aisle, he found himself in the midst of a crowd surrounding a booth offering enhancements for the body and mind. Biomechanical limbs, neural implants, and genetic modifications were all on display. Of course, he didn’t find any for humans, and they were mostly for the Vallin and Sora.
As he went forward, Apis finally pointed to the store for which he traveled. The store didn’t look as glamorous as the rest. It was clean for sure, but it didn’t have mind-blowing holographics or some niche robots. Instead, there were multiple saleswomen who also belonged to different alien species.
"Welcome. How can I help you?" One woman saw that Aric was looking around with curiosity so she asked politely.
"Uh... I heard one can sell things here," Aric asked.
"Oh, a new adventurer. Please follow me." The woman said. "My name is Valhere, and you can call me that."
Soon Aric was led behind, which looked like some kind of museum filled with some antique products. Valhere stood behind a counter while Aric on the opposite side.