The black metallic hybrid electric 5-door sedan cruised down the road. I was sitting in the front passenger seat with soft leather and dubstep song playing so loud that I could barely hear what Christmas said. "Dude, you should have told me about this, no wonder you kept looking at your phone."

"Says the guy that never told me anything." There was something in the way he talked that made me thought. "...So, for how long do you get this?"

Christmas's hand stroking the wheel while the idle one directing his grape flavored vape to his mouth. "Hm, I got this slightly before I retired from college so around three years." Said Christmas after he exhaled thick aromatic smoke.

How should I put our situation right now, fragments of thought played in my mind, splinters of words came out from my mouth, and droplets of silence spun all at once. I discovered that my best friend had been doing this kind of thing for three years, all without me knowing it? No, I wasn't angry more like amazed by how he kept it hidden for three years.

"So what are you going to do?" Said Christmas changed another topic once again.

"Eh? What do you mean by that? I guess graduate and stick on your bar for the next few years."

"No that's not what I meant. Read the mood goddamnit, what do you plan to do with your next quest?"

"That huh, no clue. My best idea is running in the street and kicking people ass until I hit a jackpot."

"Oh, why don't you investigate a cold case? might had a better chance."

"...Dude, if the polices and detectives can't solve it, what makes you think I can?"

Then absolute stillness stroke again. Smokes drifted in our surrounding. The music was loud but not a sound could be heard. Even my own breath seemed to die as soon as it left my mouth and the one that broke the silence this time was me. "Do you know someone else?"

"Yeah, I know some other guys, one of them is pretty famous, have you ever heard about the caped crusader? Well, he wasn't the caped crusader back when I met him though." 

....

I remembered I had this kind of awkward conversation before. You knew the kind of conversation when a stranger trying to talk with you when you were lining up, one that always ended with an awkward silence and he would talk again but with a different topic.

"Right!! About the wolf you mentioned before, may I borrow him this Sunday?" Said Christmas.

"Eh? Three? Well sure but for what?"

"C'mon have you seen a guy that walks with his dog in a park? he always surrounded by women right?"

".....He is a wolf though."

"C'mon who will notice the difference? ah, we're here." Said Christmas, yeah first thing first we needed to get some supplies. A swarm of cars were parked in front and beside the red-brick building. This was the place where we could get everything that we need, from knives, guns, medicines, communication devices, accessories and et cetera. Some were walking while others driving a motorized shopping cart.

"Alright, I'm going to get the party property. Met me at the food court after you finish." Said Christmas.

While looking to my own shopping list, I wandered around on this jungle of things "...Let's see, collar, dog food... Wait, does wolf eats normal dog food? argh, whatever I'll just get some meat, Litter box, sand, maybe some toy? Next is Dopinder's camera, my own food, ah right, let's buy some game console."

"Your total comes to 2930$, how will you be paying today sir? will that be cash or charge?" Said the cashier, Shopping was a scary thing when you couldn't control yourself. From my average 200$ I've spent almost 3,000 bucks in an instant.

"....Charge please." I replied while looking through at the other unnecessary thing that I put into my cart, When did I put this thing down? I complained in my mind when I saw the pile of junks that I knew I would never use.

Quest... I need to complete the quest this night! I thought after Finishing the transaction while regretly looking at my own junks.

Wild Empathy: 0.3PP

PP Left: 16.3

*****

The food court was a choir of loud chatter, each people raising their voices to be echoed around the room. The food was secondary to the information that was exchanged here, though no one ever really bothered of what others said.

"...Damn, your Skills distribution is a total mess." Said Christmas nonchalantly as he looked at my phone.

"Yeah, I'm just taking whatever I need."

"Well whatever, give me your phone, I'll send the friend request." 

The process was simple enough though, just input the name alongside the ID number and the invitation was sent. "#6351 eh, by the way, I kinda forget about this matter but since you're taking the crew how can I manage the bar?"

"Dunno~ you're the manager now, just go recruit someone else. My advice, better to recruit ASAP while the crew is still there."

*****

The same time at some random motel.

The motel was one of those seedy places where men with beer guts went to bang other men's wives with promises they couldn't afford to keep or the hookers brought their john's there and paid for rooms by the hour. Weeds grew through the cracks in the concrete path and the litter from cheap take-out meals were strewn across it. There were external wooden stairs that lead to a second floor, the second room from the stairs, where two young girls rented a room, bodies were clean, hairs were neat, and stomachs were full.

"Hey Crystal, how do I look?" Said Amber, she circled the room in her crisp suit, her folded half-moon glasses bouncing up and down as she tapped her foot. Clunkily she walked with her two-inch heel striking the wooden floor on every third bounce or so.

"Brilliant!" two enthusiastic thumbs up given by Crystal. 

"Haha! Just wait, I'll definitely get a job today!"