Element Oasis: Project Zero

Chapter 9

Ria

Back in Hollowfield, Zero and Valeria sat at the coffee shop and waited for Six to appear. Valeria had gone back to making herself look smaller as if she didn't want to take up too much space. Zero noticed and wanted to ask her why she did it, but just before he could speak he heard the door open and saw the cocky redhead walk into the bar with a smirk on his face.

"You bastard," Six said as his left eye twitched. He lifted his head slightly and smiled like a maniac which caused Zero to tense up slightly. "You weren't supposed to survive."

"Many didn't," Zero said as he looked down at the ground. "Valeria's back though as well so I don't owe you anything, but I do have something for you. It's the least I can do to show my appreciation. If it weren't for you, I don't think I would have heard about this dungeon."

[-50,000 credits]

Zero took the bag of coins that left his inventory and put it on the table. "With this money, I also want to buy Valeria and her sister."

Six nearly saw red when those words touched his ears. "You bitch!" he yelled while glaring daggers at Valeria. "You just had to open your mouth! Do you know how hard we worked to create that dungeon? All the hours it took to lure creatures in there? All the lives it took to bring the boss into the dungeon? Only for you to mess it up by running your mouth!"

"That doesn't even make sense!" Valeria yelled back. "Me telling Zero the truth wouldn't have stopped him from defeating that monster. He and the others aren't like anything I've ever seen before."

"You won't be seeing much else when I'm finished with you," he said as he picked his arm up to swing but faster than ever before Valeria pulled out her sword and pointed it towards Six's neck.

"Enough!" Zero yelled as he straightened up a bit in his chair. "Just accept this deal so that no blood can be shed. I'd much rather just solve this conflict with money. I have no intention of stopping you, in fact, I want to join you."

Six laughed sarcastically. "You say that but want me to sell my best assets."

"We both know they aren't your best assets. Besides I'm not dumb. I see a perfect opportunity for getting into business with you so let's negotiate."

"Why should I consider that? You ruined everything!"

Zero smiled. "Because having me as an asset will be much better than killing me. I beat a dungeon that was thought to be impossible to beat and gained a lot of money and fame in the process. This will only bring more attention to you all and give you more business."

Six narrowed his eyes. "Do you take me for a fool?"

'Yes'

"I know what your plan is. You're trying to get in good with the boss and take over the business. I'm not dumb!"

Zero laughed. "You're not even close. I already told you that I want to get into the business of things around here and I see the perfect opportunity to do so. I have money to invest and I'm sure your boss wouldn't be opposed to 50,000 credits. So do we have a deal or not?"

Six flexed his jaw muscles and crossed his arms. He looked away for what seemed like an eternity before he finally agreed and got up to lead Zero to his boss. As Zero walked behind Six, he smiled as he stared daggers into the man's head. His pet lizard rolled up even tighter on his shoulder to attain the utmost comfort it could achieve.

They all walked in silence while passing many homeless who would hide whenever Six passed by them or even looked at them. It was clear what type of reputation Six had and Zero knew that he didn't want to be around Six any longer than he had to. He also knew that he needed to play his cards right to attain what he wanted which would be difficult to do at the moment. Though he hated having to be patient, he knew that it was something he had to do.