BXBX NOVEL Chapter 8: Inventory and Loot
[Hit Points: 18/20]
[Mana Point maximum increased to 30]
[You have 6 unallocated Stat Points]
[You have unlocked 'Inventory'.
INVENTORY: A sub-space storage interface accessible to you through the slightest inclination of thought.
Note: All Looted items will be stored directly within your Inventory.]
Henry felt refreshed. He found himself closing his eyes and letting the feeling of relaxation flow over him. He could think better and any sluggishness he was starting to feel vanished.
"Hey!" Tony called, snapping Henry out of his relaxed mood.
"What?" Henry asked, sounding confused.
"Is something wrong?" Tony asked, his brows furrowed with concern.
"Nothing," Henry said, "Nothing, I'm… fine."
There was a pause between 'I'm' and 'fine' because as he looked around, Henry saw buttons floating above all the bodies that littered the train car roofs. The buttons were circular with the word [LOOT] written within.
A notification appeared in front of his eyes almost immediately after.
[Tutorial:
Would you like to Loot the Dead?]
"'Tutorial'?" Henry mumbled before reading the question, 'Huh, yes. I guess. Loot 'em."
*Ching*
[You have looted 10 Verlans]
[You have looted 80 Quids]
[You have looted one Revolver Ammo box (x15 bullets]
[You have looted 12 Verlans]
[You have looted 60 Quids]
[You have looted one Revolver Ammo box (x9 bullets]
[You have looted 1 metal ring]
[You have looted 20 Verlans]
[You have looted 50 Quids]
[You have looted one Revolver Ammo box (x12 bullets] …
"…"
Henry just stared, too stunned to speak.
For every body on the train roof, there were at least three notifications. All following each other in an ever-daunting long list.
But the 'Tutorial' was not yet over.
A large rectangular screen appeared next. The screen was divided into smaller square boxes and at the very top of it was the large heading; 'INVENTORY'.
In each of the square boxes was everything that had been looted so far. All neatly arranged.
Most eye-catching of the arranged loot was the one square for the 287 Verlans Henry now had to his name and another separate square for the 690 Quids that had also been looted.
Verlans and Quids were the approved currency. Verlans being wads of cash printed on a Gold standard and Quids being copper-alloy coins with 100 Quids equating to a Verlan.
Anyway, Henry reached out to one of the square boxes and let out a chuckle as his fingers touched the cash it held.
'Impressive magic,' he thought as he pulled his hand back.
This was probably the most impressive show the system had had for him so far.
Meanwhile, almost as though it had been planned, Henry and Tony's fired shots spurred Triss and Dana to action. Dana sidestepped one of the guns pointed at her and with one knife in hand, she stabbed through the neck of one of the three uniformed men.
Triss lunged forward and grabbed the wrist of one of the two still alive. She forced the gun's muzzle up as the man fired several rounds and then managed to pull his arm down to aim it at the chest of the only other uniformed man still alive. The shot was fired and death was instant.
As he saw his colleague die from his fired shot, the man's eyes widened and he resisted harder against Triss' hold,
"You bitch— Ack!" he let out as Dana grabbed him from behind and slit his throat, spilling his blood in liters. Ending his life in seconds.
With their foes vanquished, Dana and Triss looked behind at the two who had spurred them to action.
"What's wrong with him?" Dana asked with a hateful glare at Henry who was staring off into nothing.
"The Blood loss might finally be getting to him," Tony said with a glance at Henry's shoulder wound.
"Who let him have a gun?" Dana asked, her glare flicking to the revolver in Henry's right hand.
"He's actually been doing pretty well with it," Tony said with a smile hidden by his mask before nudging Henry with his elbow.
"Hmm, what?" Henry mumbled as the interface vanished from his sight and he saw the three were staring at him.
"Charles and Stefan?" Triss asked.
"Should be making their way over," Tony answered before following up with a question of his own, "Angus, Devon, and Kirk?"
"Should have made it to first class by now," Dana chimed in as she picked up two guns, handing one to Triss.
"Then we'd better catch up," Tony said with urgency, "If we've met this much opposition already, who knows what's protecting the real loot."
The ladies agreed and led the way across two more Car roofs. Henry mostly looked around for anybody he had yet to loot, determined to take full advantage of this brilliant feature the System had presented him with.
The First Class Car was very easy to spot. Its design was grander and the materials used to build it seemed to be of better quality.
When the four climbed down and arrived at the door to the first of the First class cars, they saw signs of a gunfight even if it was nowhere near the level Henry or Tony had seen so far.
They pushed the door open and there stood Angus -his white shirt still pristine and his clothing fitting the grand aesthetic of the First class lounge-, Kirk, with a cigarette in his mouth while he reloaded his gun and finally Devon whose clothes were stained heavily with blood —None of which looked to be his— had a massive shotgun in hand. The perfect weapon for a man with his visage.
From the looks of things, there had been no passengers in First Class. The entire car had been reserved for the security meant to protect the cabin sealed away on the other side. It was from here most of the uniformed men they had killed so far had spewed out from.
Henry counted ten bodies strewn about the lounge all waiting to be looted.
Instead of walking over to each and tapping the individual buttons floating above them, he simply clicked the singular 'Loot' button the System interface presented to him and smiled as the *ching* sound announced the arrival of all remedial wealth into his inventory.
Of the three they met at First class, only Angus still had his mask on.
Kirk had apparently discarded his so he could smoke a cigarette and Devon looked like he was far more comfortable with letting his face bathe in the blood of his kills.
"Ah, you're here," Angus said as Henry and the others walked into the lounge.
The Gang leader checked his gun's cylinder and then frowned at Henry and Tony,
"Now, will one of you like to tell me who fired that first shot?"
"I did," Henry said.
"Ah, of course, you did," Devon said with a snigger that looked very gruesome with his monster-like canines and blood splashed on his face and clothes,
"Who even let you have a gun?"
"That's what I said," Dana chimed in, laughing.
Tony stepped forward,
"Back off, will you? He had to do it. Stefan might have a bullet in his head right now if it weren't for him."
Triss' eyes widened,
"Wait, what?"
Angus took a breath and held the bridge of his nose,
"Be that as it may, you made things very difficult for us, Son.
Battles across the train— A ready firing squad waiting for us in here— Things could have gone really badly."
"I'm sorry," Henry said plainly.
"Oh well, we're here now," Angus said turning to the Cabin door that sealed away their prize, "The last barrier to make all this bloodshed worth it."
Angus reached out to the door and at that moment, Henry received an alert in his head;
[A Gunman armed with Magic has been detected!]
[You have triggered a Sub-Quest;
Defeat the Gunman and make his Magic yours.
-Kill Reward: 45 Exp
-Sub-Quest Reward: 30 Exp
*Nyx will receive 50% of your Sub-Quest Reward. Your Exp count will not be impacted.
Good luck.]
Henry read through the message quickly and then his eyes went to the door. At that moment, his instincts warned him and he found it impossible to resist reaching out and calling out,
"Angus, wait!"
Angus' hand touched the door and a loud *BANG!* sounded out as dark tendrils of intense magical energy blasted the door off its hinges…
*Bam!*
… slamming the Gang leader against the other side of the compartment with a massive impact.