14 Chapter 14: You have surprisingly deep pockets

Jayson had his back to a wall his lips trembling as he stifled a yawn, the alley was riddled with holes and various debris sure signs that a battle was waged.

Chunks missing from walls left the occupants inside confused and angry, however they stayed silent when they saw two powerful individuals fighting. Not knowing if they were from a high-ranking or noble family, they q pretend not to notice so that no one was punished.

Craig was clinching his teeth so tightly that a leather sound emanated, his body was extremely red in color, steam poured off his body in massive amounts. It filled the small alleyway quickly, his massive body hidden from view as the system shot a message, "Skill detected, Steam-Screen acquired."

A serene calm washed over Jayson as he stood there, with closed eyes his senses expanded beyond him. His consciousness floated in darkness for a moment before it picked up a subtle trace of sound, a footstep, that brought him back to reality.

The steam shifted revealing the glint of a blade slicing through the air, with a subtle swish the blade danced around Jayson, who stepped forward a curled fist exploded from his side into the thick layer of steam.

His fist buried itself into a mass of flesh that caved in around his forearm, popping sounds were then heard followed by a horrendously loud retch and splattering. Jayson dislodged his fist a warm sensation covered his wrist, looking down to see it dripping with blood.

The steam faded Craig's body was now a ghastly pale white, the color drained after the punch he received. Knee on the ground next to a puddle of blood and vomit, his breaths were slow and heavy, his free hand clutching the injured area.

Jayson scoffed squatting down to maintain eye contact as he spoke, "Oh no Craig the Feeble has fallen down, now would be a good time to call for back up. You did bring back up right? It would be a shame if you didn't." With a slight poke to his forehead Craig shivered with wide eyes, the light in them fading as he lost consciousness, foam frothing from his mouth.

Jayson sighed in disappointment, " You could've brought back up and I wouldn't have been mad. Now let us see what loot you dropped, your just a small fish so I won't expect much."Picking up the one handed ax from next to Craig's unconscious body, he nudged the side of his loincloth with the tip of his shoe. Feeling no resistance he pressed on until the upper half of his foot vanished within.

"Storage Cloth Identified, added to crafting list." The system chimed, only this time it didn't annoy Jayson, for he was positively excited about his find. His hands went to work stripping Craig completely naked, holding the cloth before him it actually expanded to the size of a small blanket.

Various stains and colors spotted the blanket and strange odor was wafting into the breeze, this hardly bothered Jayson as he stuck his head into the cloth. As his head pierced the veil his eyes was met with a pure white space that expanded beyond his sight, mounds of coins and objects littered the floor in a golden treasure light.

At the sight before him tears silently rolled down his cheeks before he withdrew from the space, Jayson was quivering with excitement this small carp turned out to be a monstrous catfish, however he kept his composure as he knew this was something Faith would need and looked forward to the praise she may give.

Jayson stood and prepared himself to leave, glancing down at the naked, unconscious Craig, gave a curt nod, "Craig the Immobile , you have surprisingly deep pockets and the contents shall sustain us for a long time. You have my gratitude, good luck sir." He said taking off down the alley and casually mixing in with the crowd, he made his way back toward the Mages Guild just in time to see the massive wave of water sweeping away a giant skeleton.

"I wonder who that is?" Jayson mumbledto himself a rather impressed look on his face to his side a mass of brown fur sat, happily munching on a link of meat. Allen looked up at him a satisfied look in his eyes, with a burp he responded, "That'll be Annie, you've missed out on a bit since you left. I'll fill you in."He said trotting toward the building giving him the details of situation as it unfolded, by the end Jayson was clutching his ribs in laughter tears flowing like streams from his eyes.

Regaining his composure the pair entered the building to see it buzzing with excitement, groups of mages gathered happily chatting about the event that took place not too long ago. A few lucky individuals gained insights on new spells and incantations and were in the middle of creating them, various fluctuations of mana invigorated their minds.

Jayson was nearly overwhelmed just by walking across the room, he wasn't as sensitive the first time he came. Confused as to what was going on he shot Allen a worried look, concerned he would faint and lose the precious treasures he'd acquired.

Allen took notice of his concern giving him a once over with his beady golden eyes that flashed an array of colors, " You are fine, just getting used to this world and your body is undergoing a change."

Jayson started to panic internally but calmed himself, this was something out of his control at the current and would need more information from Allen to curb his fear later. For now his mind was occupied with thoughts of reuniting with the group and sharing with them his newly "acquired" wealth.

As they walked through the main hall their pace slowed due to the sea of people becoming increasingly thick, doing his best to gently move people aside as they appeared to be centered around someone.

Jayson looked down toward Allen and said, "Maybe a big shot has come, or someone they all disliked has died. Either way we'll have to keep pushing if we want to regroup with the others."

Resolve flashed in their eyes and with a nod Jayson stepped forward, preparing to shove the person before him to get ahead. However a tap on his shoulder disrupted his focus, looking over to see a pair of mischievous eyesupon him. Not expecting to see Kenny so suddenly caused him to stumble, knocking over the person he planned to shove.

That person fell into another creating a domino effect, soon a mass of people were falling and shoving to stay upright. From a simple accident came a chaotic mess, angry shouts, and curses echoed throughout the main hall as Jayson and Kenny slowly backed away.

The latter trembling doing his best to contain the flood of laughter, even with his dark complexion one could see his cheeks turning red. Jayson clearly embarrassed rolled his eyes in doing so he realized that Faith and Annie were not with him, " Are you just going to laugh and not tell me what's going on?"

He asked clearly annoyed his fingers flexing momentarily, as he was resisting the swelling urge to punch him. Kenny unshaken by the hostile intent scoffed, "Don't think I can't do both, you'll find I'm great at multitasking. The girls are with some old guy talking about compensation for interrupting a match, they sent me off to collect you."

He chuckled a bit continuing, "Here I was preparing myself for a search through the city, and you turn up right before I leave. What are the odds?"

"Anything fun happen while you were out?"

Jayson twitched at the question as he followed behind Kenny who led the way, he nodded faintly checking his surroundings to make sure no one was paying attention as he retrieved the Storage Cloth. Showing it to Kenny, who nearly retched when the various smells assaulted his nose.

"What the hell is that thing?!" Why does it smell like every guy on the football team?!" Kenny asked a mixture of anger and curiosity flashed on his face.

However before Jayson could start to explain, an outstretched hand from Kenny already made contact with the cloth and vanished within. The excited squeal that he released echoed throughout the hall as he shoved the upper half of his body into the cloth, he was only inside for an instant before he withdrew lights dancing in his eyes.

Jayson stood there a smug smile on his face that was replaced with terror when he felt his feet no longer on the ground, Kenny picked him up and charged toward their destination kicking up a tailwind that seemed like a hurricane.

A short while later Jayson felt a cold surface on his backside as Kenny dumped him before a plain looking door, " Thanks for dragging me to wherever we are, and thanks again for the gentle landing."He said as he stood, brushing the dust of his pants.

"Your welcome." Kenny said stepping past him to push open the door, letting out the heavy scent of food. Inside were Faith and Annie who sitting before an elderly man, between then was a large golden bowl filled with various meats, fruits, and cheeses.

Faith looked up towards Jayson, her cheeks stretched out like a chipmunk, eyes wide with an innocent face as she held a turkey leg to her mouth.

It was silent when Jayson's stomach growled and sounded throughout the room, causing the Elderly Man to laugh, "Well now, don't be shy come on in!"