Chapter 134: What Happened Here?

When Theo woke up, the first thing he did was leave the Tower and go back to reality.

The moment he stepped out of the room and into the corridor, the officials went quiet. One was a woman who looked to be in her late forties. The other was the man who had changed his dollars into gold coins and deposited them on his behalf, and neither of them said a word as he passed.

’I don’t even know if I’ve touched that money...’

Theo had so much money that he didn’t need to worry about any of it for now. Even so, he wanted to build a way to keep earning it, which was one of the reasons he meant to concern himself with Hostile’s superiors and whatever it was they had going on at the stockyard.

’So after this expedition, I have to climb faster and reach Floor 5 and Floor 10 as soon as I can.’

Floor 5 was also where Uthed had stopped, and Theo found he was looking forward to it.

’I wonder if I should invite him.’

Theo wasn’t stupid enough to think that whatever Floor 5 had done to Uthed would disappear because he asked. More than that, he had to be careful of whatever it was that had made Uthed give up the climb there in the first place.

Knowing only that much, it would be pompous of him to think he could simply call on the poor man and talk him back into climbing.

He was still turning it over as he walked away when it came again.

[High-grade Appraisal Equipment Detected]

’They brought something stronger this time?’

[Do you want to block skill use or deceive skill use]

Theo sighed.

’Let’s give them what they’re looking for, and a reason to stop looking for me.’

So Theo allowed the man to see his status. Only the one, of course.

Had Theo spared the time to glance back, he would have seen the man reading him over and over again, even taking the monocle off his eye and wiping it on his sleeve to check a second time. The man turned to the woman beside him, checked something with her, and nodded before looking back for Theo. By then Theo had hailed a taxi, climbed into the back, and was on his way home.

While in the car, he called Billy.

{Heyyyyy Lord Theo! I was losing my mind!}

Theo held the phone a little away from his ear, and paused in confusion:

"Losing your mind? Over what?"

{Over you, of course! Since you entered the Tower you’ve never even called for anything, and I was beginning to get scared, Lord Theo! Did something happen to you, or did you get bored of our services?!}

Theo was silent again.

’Do these people get some kind of commission for making me spend money? There’s no way he gets this excited over me spending my own...’

He let the thought go. What he’d called about was more pressing, and if he didn’t say it now while it was still on his mind, he had a feeling he’d forget it by evening.

{Please, Lord Theo, go ahead and place your request! I am more than available to serve you!}

Theo spoke hesitantly:

"I need an automobile."

{YES! YEEEESSSSS!!! Finally, Lord Theo! Damn, I thought you were never going to ask, Lord Theo! In fact, I think you should get two cars.}

{Your terrain is very rocky, so you need one badass off-road truck, and then one very nice supercar for the ease. But there are hybrids that can serve both purposes these days. There are some brands I’d recommend, heard they go all the way back to the era before the apocalypse, making the best supercars of that era.}

{Will you let me do my research and get back to you?}

Theo was a moment too late, but he answered:

"Of course, that’s why I called you. Get back to me."

He was about to end the call, but Billy had already cut it off before he got the chance. Theo just stared at his phone screen with his mouth slightly open.

’He sounds more excited about the car than I am.’

Theo sighed and let his head fall back against the seat.

Up front, the driver spoke without taking his eyes off the road:

"I guess you’re getting a new car soon?"

Theo opened one eye and looked at him. For a moment he weighed whether to answer at all, and then eventually he did.

"Yes, I guess. I’ve got the money, so why not do it? Hailing a taxi can get stressful."

"There are disadvantages to owning a vehicle of your own too, sir. I hear there are car thieves at the Tower Entrance Park. You might think hailing a taxi is stressful, but would you like it if your new car got stolen?"

Theo leaned forward slightly and looked at him.

"I guess I know who to come looking for if anything happens to my new car."

The rest of the trip was silent.

Theo never let the taxis take him all the way home. He always got out where the incident with the Aperture had happened, paid, and walked the rest of the way in.

Now that the Dark Elves were living there, the forest felt very different. Theo could feel it more than he ever had before, too, with his affinity for darkness and his perception of hidden things.

Nothing could truly be concealed from him. Even now, as he walked under the trees, the shadows pooled at the foot of each trunk seemed very willing to give up the positions of whatever they were hiding.

But he had no interest in harassing his tenants, so he kept his eyes on the path and kept walking.

’Free security... even if they don’t pay rent.’

He eventually got home, and things there were a little different from what he had expected.

He stopped in front of his house, and his mouth fell open.

"What the hell happened here?"