Strangely enough, I am really excited for my first job doing this kind of freelancer thing.
I think freelancer is the proper term for what I am doing at least but I might be wrong.
"Damn..." I said as I stared at the place my client wants to meet at.
Now I have found out one thing based on the location that my client is sending me, and that is she is rich rich because I am across the street in front of a very high-class restaurant right now.
So I decided to put [Archangel] into my backpack and fix up my clothes a little bit before I got in, and also think of different kinds of excuses depending on the jobs that my client might want me to do cause the rich are very weird and odd folks.
And also the Court of the Owls most likely will know about me the moment that I walk in there and talk to my client, and that also means that Batman might know who I am too after this.
You might be wondering why I am even considering going in there. It's because of a few reasons. First is that I will most likely get paid really good if I accept the job. Second if I accept the job and I do really good on it then the client most likely will spread the word about me and I will get more jobs.
But then again, this rich rich person is picking a nobody to do a job, where they could be picking someone with a name behind them, so this is really suspicious but in all reality, I will get nowhere without taking risks and this kind of goes against my eat the rich mindset too.
Wish me luck.
I crossed the street and I went into the place.
The moment that I walked into the restaurant, I got looks from the security but I paid them no mind at all cause you get used to the looks when you are from a place that is primarily filled with white folks.
Anyways I headed over to the desk to talk to the person at it.
As I approached the desk, the lady that is behind it looked me up and down with a judgmental look yet she asked with a polite tone.
"How can I help you sir?"
"I was called to come here" I said to her, and now that I think about it, there is a chance that I was pranked and if I was pranked then I will find the person and I am going to fuck them up.
"Your name sir?"
"Tod"
The moment that I said my name out loud, one of the phones on the desk rang, and the lady very quickly picked up the phone.
So good news it was not a prank cause I can hear the lady that called me to come here on the phone but the bad news is that she might be the owner of this place so I am getting involved with very rich folks, so I might have to go all Luigi Mangione on them depending on what kind of rich folks they are.
Thinking about rich folks, I wonder if Lucifer knows if I am here. I mean he should know, he is in top 5 strongest of this verse and he is basically second strongest depending on the timeline of the comics.
I will find out if he knows I am here later cause there is a list of people that I want to meet now that I am in DC, and things that I want to do. Like something on my list is me having a drink with Lucifer.
Anyways, the lady at the desk put down the phone. Now I am going to act like I didn't hear the whole thing, which I did cause of my better senses than humans.
"P-please sir, go through the elevator to the top floor"
"Thanks, and have a good evening"
Entering the elevator, I let out a sigh of relief cause I am finally meeting my client.
I looked around the elevator and there are about four cameras in here, one on each corner and I bet that my client is watching me so let's act normal, as normal as I can be anyways.
I really hope this is not a hit job that she might want me to do cause then I will not do it unless I know the person from the comics and they deserve it.
On the thought of killing people, I think that I should buy myself a spear so that I can develop my own spear fighting style with all the things that I got from [Intermediate Polearm Mastery].
Fuck it, I am just going to use [Gae Bolg] and I am just going to take any risks that come with using it cause if a person is going to hunt me down for using [Gae Bolg] then I will whoop their ass with it.
On the note of making a spear style for myself, I am going to make it similar to how breathing styles from Demon Slayer work, cause due to me knowing and being able to use [Total Concentration Breathing] so I should be able to make my own breathing style. I think I might make my own version of insect breathing.
No, I got a better idea. I should make a breathing style for each melee weapon that I got but it will be a while before I even make a breathing style for [Split Soul Katana] or [Playful Cloud] cause I am not skilled enough to do so yet.
I just got a random thought, is [Gae Bolg] sentient?
Like I remember reading somewhere that almost all weapons in Fate should be semi or fully sentient so I wonder if [Gae Bolg] is.
But that is a future me problem so let him deal with it.
Anyways, I got to the top floor finally and I walked out of the elevator and I walked into a penthouse?
I think it's a penthouse at least cause I have never been to one but based on what I have seen on like movies and YouTube, this looks like a penthouse.
So I walked to what I am going to assume is the living room cause I hear a TV playing and I can smell wine too.
When I got to the living room, I see a very beautiful woman on the couch and she is drinking wine but something feels off about her for some reason.
She looked at me up and down with an appraising look like I am a piece of gold and it's weird.
"Come and join me dear" She said to me and her voice is so sweet like honey.
And I did what she told me but I sat a bit away from her cause I don't know this woman at all and she feels off in a way.
"It's good to meet you Tod, my name is Mia Rosewood, you may call me Mia" She introduced herself to me.
"Well it's nice to meet you miss Mia, as you know my name is Tod, Tod Solace, and thank you for calling me. I am new to this whole type of business so I hope that I can help you the best that I can with almost anything you need" I said to her as I put my backpack on the floor between my legs.
"Well dear, before we speak of the job that I wish for you to do for me, I need to know what services you give"
"I am what I would call a freelancer. I will take almost any kind of odd jobs for the right price"
"What about the most under the table kind of odd jobs?" She asked me and I'm going to bet she is talking about illegal jobs to which it makes sense she asked that question.
"It heavily depends on the job and the pay" I answered her in the most simple way possible.
"Ah well, luckily the job that I wish for you to do is to go recover some items that were stolen from me while shipping to me" She said as she sipped from her wine glass.
A recovery job. It sounds easy enough but this is Gotham and this is a rich person that I am taking the job from so I am going to have to know what I am recovering and from who I am recovering it from.
"Well miss Mia, what exactly am I recovering and from whom am I recovering it from?"
"Just some small time gang with no real backing behind them and the items are just some simple art pieces and some books that were quite expensive"
She is not telling me the full truth which is to be expected. Rich people lie all the time so I can only hope that she is not lying about it being a small time gang with no backing.
"Why hire me to do it? I mean I am sure that there are better options than a nobody with no name for himself?" I asked her. The reason why I am asking is cause I need to make sure she is not setting me up on this.
"You see dear, many of the professionals charge too much due to them seeing this kind of job below them and the fact they draw unwanted attention, so as you said, a nobody with no name to them is perfect for this job"
...There is some logic behind that and I don't really know how much to charge for my services depending on the job so this will help me decide my prices for my services.
"Where is the location at?" I asked her, and she simply nodded her head to a folder on the coffee table.
I picked it up and started to read it.
After reading it, I found out that this little gang is in Gotham harbor in a small little warehouse that is not owned by anyone. Also this gang is not really worth being called a gang cause there are only like 2 dozen people in it that are all basically dropouts from high school.
"Now that you know all that is needed, let's talk about the pay and some rules on what you can and can't do" She said as she set her wine glass onto the coffee table then she said "First the rules, no killing or maiming at all. Those are just a bunch of misguided kids that were given an unlucky hand in life. No guns either, they are too loud and they will bring attention to the warehouse"
Those rules make sense. Also I was not planning on really hurting the kids. At most I was going to do was knock them out, and I don't think I am even mentally fit to kill someone and I strongly believe I will have a breakdown if I do kill someone.
"Now onto the pay. I am willing to pay 5,000 dollars for this job if you finish the job before midnight" She said as she took out a few stacks of 20 dollar bills so I am going to assume the money is in there.
5,000 dollars is a lot of money for someone like me.
"And how am I sure you will not cheat me out of the money? Like don't get me wrong, it's nothing against you but as you know, I am completely new to this kind of business so I don't really want to get cheated out of this job" I said to her cause like I said, I don't want to get cheated out of this job.
"And how am I sure that you will not run off with my items that I want you to recover for me?"
"...Fair enough"
"Well, I think you should get going now dear" She said to me as she picked up her wine glass again.
"See you soon miss Mia" I said as I got up and headed back to the elevator to leave.
Once I got back into the elevator, I let out a deep sigh cause now I got to go beat up some kids to get something back for a rich woman.
Fun.
All that aside, Mia felt weird and it was kind of hard to feel her emotions. I think she is a Homo-magi cause there is no other real explanation for that feeling she gave me. I failed to mention the fact that she feels similar to [Grimoire of the Cryomancer] and the Grimoire is magical and it leaks some of that energy out too from what I felt from it.
Onto the job, I am planning on just using [Playful Cloud] for this job if I got to fight the kids or I will just use my hands to beat the shit out of them, and I am not even taking out [Archangel] cause that was made to blow holes into Cyberpunk Chrome which is strong as shit.
I am going to have to call a taxi to get to the Harbor cause of how far it is from here.
I stepped out of the elevator and I walked out of the restaurant, and I waited for a taxi to pass by.
.
.
.
Gotham taxis are decent at best and they are cheap too so that is a plus.
Anyways, I got to the harbor, well not exactly at the harbor cause supposedly there are some unspoken rules that taxi drivers follow here and one of them is not getting too close to the harbor because of all the things that can go wrong down there.
I don't doubt them really. If it keeps them alive so I got no issue with these rules.
After a bit of walking around the harbor, I found the warehouse, and it's small for a warehouse.
So I am going to stake it out, and the way that I am going to do it is by being in my fox form, so I went to a spot that I am sure no cameras can see.
I am really nervous cause this will be the first time I turn into my fox form.
Taking a deep breath, I focused on turning into my fox form then I felt a pop feeling and I was on all fours.
First thing that I immediately noticed was that all my senses are stronger now by a lot but it's not overwhelming. I assume it's because my brain and other things related to it are built to handle these senses so I am not going to be overwhelmed by them.
I'll do tests on my physical stats later, cause now I got to stake this warehouse out.
.
.
So after like only a good 10 minutes worth of staking out this warehouse, I can say these kids suck really bad at guarding things. Also there are only a handful of people outside the warehouse and based on what I can hear from outside, I am going to assume that there are about the same amount or less cause these kids are dumb.
Anyways, I am on the roof of the warehouse right now in my human form. Also I got hops as a fox like I am jumping like 12 feet into the air.
With a deep breath I climbed into the window that is on the roof. I am happy for the strength that being a kitsune gave me cause otherwise I really doubt that I could hold myself up like I am right now.
And I was right, there were only a handful of people in here. Also I found the items and lucky me, my backpack is based on weight and not sizes cause there are some big paintings.
But I am going to have to knock out one of them cause he is close to the items.
So I dropped to the ground quietly, and I went over to where the items were hiding behind things so they don't see me.
I got to the items but as I said, there is a dude around them so I am going to have to take him out quietly and quickly.
I got behind him then I grabbed him quickly and pulled him into the shadows with me as I covered his mouth so he does not make noise and I headlocked him where he can't reach for anything.
"Go to sleep, go to sleep, go to sleep..." I repeated very quietly into his ear as I choked him out.
After a few seconds, he stopped moving and went limp. Don't worry he is alive, I can hear his heartbeat.
So I set him down gently on his side, then I went to get the items that I am going to get paid for recovering, but not before disarming his gun cause if he does wake up while I am still getting the items, he will not be able to shoot me.
Once I am sure that I am in the clear and no one is looking this way, I started to shove the items into my backpack and it didn't take long for me to put everything into my backpack.
Now for the tricky part.
Getting out of the warehouse without getting caught or I can just beat all these kids and teach them a lesson on doing bad things like this.
Yeah, I am not doing that at all. That is just fucking dumb and really egotistical cause like if you got to run around and just beat on people to prove that you are strong then you are fucking pathetic.
Anyways, there is a window that is big enough for me to climb out of, but it is across from me.
So I got two choices right now. I can try to go the way that I got in here or I can go across to the window.
I decided that I am going to do the safe route and go the way that I got in, so I started to climb on things quietly like a fox.
Get it, cause I am a fox?
I thought it was funny.
Well anyways, I'm almost to the window in the ceiling.
Right now, I am dangling from a pipe and I just got to swing myself to the window which sounds easier than it is cause if I let go at the wrong time then I will fall to the floor and get caught.
So all I have to do is time it right and grab the window so this is going to be easy peasy.
I missed.
And now I am falling and about to slam into a bunch of boxes hard.
BANG
My body broke some of the boxes and the fall hurt less than I expected it to so that is good I guess but now I have alerted them of my presence.
I stood up and I brushed all the dust off me then I shoved my coat into my backpack and I took out [Playful Cloud] cause now I got to fight sadly.
I can hear the kids panicking right now cause they think that I am one of the Bats.
Time to make myself known for real now cause after this, rumors of me will start to spread so I may as well make it work in my favor.
"Hey there friends, sorry about making all this mess so how about we just act like this did not happen and you all can walk off not beaten?" I said to them as I walked out of where I fell and allowed them to see me.
"Who the fuck are you!?" One of them yelled at me as they all pointed their guns at me.
"Little old me?" I asked then I said "Well I am but a humble fox doing a job"
"A fox? What are you, some kind of fucking furry?"
"Why yes I am, do you have a problem with that?"
"Yes in fact I do cause a fucking cunt ass furry is in a place where he does not belong"
"Ah well, I guess I am going to have to beat the hate out of you" I said as I let out a deep breath.
I rushed at the one that is all the way in the back and I slammed my knee into his gut. Also I am fast as fuck, like way faster than I expected to be.
Once the dude that I kneed was hunched over, I grabbed him and threw him into two of his friends.
I think that I have finally noticed for real how much being a Kitsune has made me stronger than I thought that I would ever really be as a normal human.
Anyways, I slammed [Playful Cloud] into one of the dudes' guts and he was sent flying back hard a few feet back, and the dudes that were not knocked down are just looking at me in shock.
That had more force than I thought it was going to have. I hope that I did not break anything on that kid or anything like that.
I pointed [Playful Cloud] at the two guys still standing and pointing their guns at me.
"I-I doubt that you are b-bulletproof so drop whatever the hell that thing is that you are holding now" One of the dudes said to me as the gun shook in his hands.
"You are willing to take that gamble kiddo cause if you are wrong then I will fuck you up" I told him as I took a step towards them. Now I am being really fucking dumb like I am sure that I will survive a hit from this bullet and I can heal from it but I still really don't want to get shot cause I know that will hurt a lot.
"How about this, you two drop your guns and help your little friends and I will not beat your asses"
The two kids looked at each other and nodded their heads.
"Lower your weapon first then we will lower ours"
"...Do you kids think that I am dumb? No nevermind, I am just going to whoop your asses"
I rushed at them and I hit their guns out of their hands fast and hard, then I slammed my foot into one of their guts and I kicked the other in the head.
I did make sure that all the kids were ok cause I really don't want to have hurt them badly.
So after I checked on them and laid them on their side, in case that they might throw up for whatever reason then they will not choke on their throw up.
Anyways, at least I now know how strong I am compared to humans even if they are a bunch of kids in their late teens but we are pretty close in age cause I am only 22 years old.
All that aside, I got to leave and I have decided to just go through the front door of the warehouse cause at this point it does not matter if the people outside hear me because I'm sure of myself that I can beat them.
Wait.
Something has caught my eye.
It's a Kawasaki Z650.
Walking up to it and looking at it right now, it looks really new and barely used. Also whatever idiot owns this thing left their keys in it.
Lucky me, I know how to ride a motorcycle, and unluckily for the former owner of this bike, I am going to steal it for myself.
So I took the keys and I only took the keys to the bike cause I don't want what I assume are the former owner's house keys.
But I am going to have to give this bad girl a makeover cause she is a bright green. Also a downside is that I might not be able to put her into my backpack yet cause I am sure this bike weighs like 400 pounds or something like that.
So I am going to try to pick it up to see if I can and I will figure out if I can shove it into my backpack.
"Well do it" I said as I took a deep breath and I picked it up.
Ok picking it up, I noticed a few things. First one being, I am not using all my strength to pick it up. Like don't get me wrong it's heavy but like I am not going all out.
Putting down the bike, I grabbed my backpack and I tried to put the bike into the backpack.
It worked.
Barely, but it still worked.
The reason it barely worked cause I can feel that my backpack is really full right now to the point where I cannot really put anything else in it. I think it's because my backpack is bonded to me.
Anyways, I am going to keep the bike in my backpack for a minute and I will take it out once I am out of this harbor.
I think it's time that I use [Total Concentration Breathing] to get out of here because I plan on running out of this harbor at full speed while staying hidden.
With barely any focus at all, I started to use [Total Concentration Breathing].
And holy shit, I feel way stronger now. I think that I should have been using this from the start cause this would have made this easier for me.
But I can't change the past.
The moment that I opened the door, I ran as fast as I could.
And let me tell you, I am moving at speeds that I never thought that I could even move at ever.
What took minutes of me walking, now took only a few seconds but I think that is mostly because I am not really going the same route that I took here.
Things that I noticed is that I can almost fully keep up with the area around me. Now I know why, it's because of both me being a Kitsune and [Total Concentration Breathing]. Now I know everything about [Total Concentration Breathing] due to it being basically burned into my brain like all my other skills. I think that I might make some little notebooks that teach about [Total Concentration Breathing] and how to do it, and I might sell them to people that I am sure will put it to good use.
Once I made it across the bridge, I sat down and I stopped using [Total Concentration Breathing], and I noticed the difference quickly.
My thought process is slower now, my body feels weaker now too. Hell everything feels weaker and slower now.
After taking a few second break, I got up and I took out my bike after making sure that no one was looking at me.
Soon enough, I am on the road and driving back to the restaurant, and my new bike rides amazingly but I am going to find some place to get her all nice and upgraded in a way that I will like. Plus being in DC, I just know I am going to get a lot of really good upgrades.
.
.
.
I got to the restaurant in a few minutes, and I am so happy that I stole this bike for myself, but I do feel bad for the kid that I stole it from a little bit.
I went into an alleyway and I shoved my bike into my backpack, then I started to head into the restaurant.
The lady at the front desk from earlier is still there and when she saw me, her eyes widened a little bit and the phone rang, and she quickly picked it up.
When she put the phone back down, she said "Up the elevator mister Solace, miss Rosewood is waiting at the top"
"Thanks"
Once again, I am back in this fuckass elevator and on my way to miss Mia, that odd feeling woman.
When I reached the floor, I headed to the living room, where I see miss Mia sitting down in front of the TV as she did some paperwork.
She looked over at me and looked me over in disappointment. I am going to assume it's because she can't see the items that I recovered for her, so she is in for a surprise.
"I will assume that you failed to recover my stolen items?" She asked as she put her papers down and looked at me.
"Nah miss Mia, I got all your items right here" I said as I took off my backpack and showed it to her.
"...Really now?"
I just smiled at her as I reached into my backpack then I took out each and every single item that I recovered for her.
Once I was done, Miss Mia was just looking at my backpack with curiousness and greed.
"Where did you get that?" She asked me as she completely ignored the items.
"Well miss Mia, that is a secret"
"And I am willing to pay for that secret, so name your price, dear"
"Some things can't be bought and that secret is one of them"
She just stared at me for a few moments, then she just let out a deep sigh and she said "Fine then, keep your secrets"
"All of that aside, I did my job and have gotten all the items you asked me to get"
"Yes, yes you did" She said as she took the briefcase from under the coffee table and handed it over to me.
And I took that bad boy happily cause like money is money plus I did the job that I was hired to do so I deserve this money.
I shoved the briefcase into my backpack, and I turned to miss Mia, and I asked her "Do you need anything else from me, miss Mia?"
"At the moment no but if I do then I will call you"
"Well then I hope you have a good rest of your night, miss Mia"
Then I headed back to the elevator so I can leave this place.
I had a very successful day, and I'm happy for that. I can't wait to see what tomorrow has in store for me.
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[AN: Hello Goblins, it your favorite Hispanic Daddy here with a new chapter for this story and I hope you all like it.
Tod aka the MC is kind of a unreliable narrator like almost all MC from a first POV type of story, the reason why he is a unreliable narrator is cause he down play somethings and he does not really acknowledge things that he should and if he does it then he does late.
Also he will not really care about people knowing that he is a kitsune like he will not be open about it or show it off but if folks do know then he will not really care at all.
And other thing, Tod is not human at all anymore, he is a kitsune and him being that was affect his mindset and how he view the world in some aspect that he have not realized yet.
Anyways, comment on how you liked the chapter and how what I can do better on it]