Two men staggered through the gates of Carter, their tired breaths and pale faces proof of the effort they exerted just in getting to this place.

"At long last.."

"..we've made it to Carter."

"Where should we be going?" one of them asked, and the other man wordlessly answered by pointing his finger westward, at the top of a hill where a luxurious villa stood.

"That's where I think we should be going."

It was quite far, but thanks to its size and location, it could easily be seen.

"All right, let's go."

"Give me a moment to catch my breath," the other man said, taking huge heaves to bring his energy back up, and after he did, gestured once more towards the complex.

"Let's go."

They nodded to each other and made haste towards the west end of town.

Their entrance did not go unnoticed, as a man selling fruit near the gates quickly disappeared into his store, and a woman walked up to the door of her clothing store and flipped the "Open" sign to "Closed".

And as soon as they did, a group of awakeners emerged from what appeared to be thin air.

"How far away were they from here when our scouts spotted them?"

"Ten minutes; I already sent in the preliminary report."

"So, do you think they are from Evergreen?"

"Yes. The mark on their clothes and the smell of their mana is definitely Evergreen."

"Do we have any new information from their side of the pond?"

"Nothing special.. I don't like this. It smells like a failure of our intelligence."

The rest of the awakeners nodded before dispersing, and the atmosphere of Carter slowly changed due to this arrival.

***

It was at entrance of the villa complex that the two men ran into some Grand Duelists manning the gates.

"Kindly state your affiliation and business here, please."

"We're from Evergreen, and we require help from your master, please."

"If you're willing to wait here, I can relay your request to our master."

"We don't have that kind of time, sir. We need the help of the Grand Duelists – something happened in our division."

"What happened?"

"The situation is serious enough that we have to tell your master in person about it."

The Evergreen is a division near Carter that is currently allied with the Grand Duelists.

'Ally' is a rather misleading term, because the Evergreen division is much weaker than the Grand Duelists. 'Protectorate' is a more accurate term; as Evergreen works under the Grand Duelists in exchange for their protection.

It is a mutually beneficial relationship: the weaker division gains a way to protect themselves, and possibly training from the stronger, while the stronger division can use the weaker division's territories as a way to increase their influence.

Such is the relationship between the Grand Duelists and Evergreen.

"All right," the awakener manning the gates said. "I'll require some identification and proof first."

"Here's a copy of our alliance pledge," the man said, taking a document out of his inventory, as if he had prepared for this meeting ahead of time.

The guard unrolled the document and examined it briefly, seeing the Evergreen's personal seal, certifying it as an original document made straight from the division proper.

He rolled up the document, returned it to the man, and nodded.

"Everything checks out. I will notify the master. Please have a seat while you wait for him."

***

Master Li was in his office analyzing intelligence reports when his Chief walked in.

"There are two men from Evergreen here to see you."

"Evergreen? What could bring them here all of a sudden, Klay?"

"I've seen them; they're not in good shape. They need our help."

"Help? What for?"

"They got into a skirmish with a local division; when I checked out the intelligence, there's a large possibility that it's going to escalate into an all-out war between divisions," Klay explained, since the master is not the type of person you can just walk up to and meet.

The way it is done in the Grand Duelists is that all requests for the Master go through the Chief first, and Klay sorts through the people who want to see Master Li.

Klay went to Master Li with this information; this means that he deems the Evergreen awakeners' request to be legitimate.

And Master Li trusts Klay's judgment on this matter.

"Klay, which divisions are there in that area?"

There's a reason Li delegates matters such as the divisions under the Grand Duelists to other awakeners such as Klay: there are more things he needs to attend to as the leader of his division.

"Froad."

"Froad? Okay, then. Let's meet with these visitors and hear them out," the old man said, closing the folder of intelligence before walking out of his office with his Chief.

***

There were huge events happening at the moment, and Jake Smithson was close to being overwhelmed by events happening in quick succession.

"What am I going to do?" Jake wailed at the huge predicament befalling him at the moment. "I am up shit creek without a paddle!"

This was something he never expected to happen.

One sigh to breath out his panic, but only anxiety remained.

In the wilderness just outside of the Burning Forest, Jake sat down on a stone, hands grasping his head as he groaned in imagined pain.

"How long are you going to sit there?" Liam asked him. "Let's go!"

"Leave me be for a moment," Jake replied. "Something huge got dropped on me."

"I don't see anything," Liam observed, frustration in his tone. "What's up with you? You've been acting even odder since you came out of the Burning Forest."

"The matter that I've been talking about," Jake explained carefully.

"What's really going on?" Liam asked, the annoyance in his voice replaced with worry when he heard Jake's tone change quickly.

"I mean.. I never expected this to happen.." he continued, his voice sounding like the world just collapsed on him, and Liam suddenly felt sorry.

'Oh, man. Was I too hard on him? I might not know what's happening.'

He felt a little regret about snapping at Jake for making another strange remark for some strange reason.

"Listen to me, man. If there's anything I can do to help, I'll help you," he said, his tone shifting from worry to support.

"Okay, Liam, thanks," Jake answered.

And then his question just made Liam frustrated all over again.

"What do you think is better, buying a motorcycle or a collection of GOAT Flyers?"

"Fuck off!" Liam yelled before turning away and restarting his walk back to Carter.

"No, I'm serious!" Jake asked before standing up and trying to catch up to his second. "You really have to help me choose!"

***

The 2K Miles Velocity Roadster motorcycle is one of the most beautiful, must-buy items Jake Smithson had ever seen.

Since the moment he saw it, he deemed it a necessity: how nice would it be, driving down the roads of Nohas on a motorcycle, the wind in his hair, and just the road and his bike keeping him company..

There were a few complications that rose from this, though: the Awakening Store ended up releasing four more pairs of GOAT Flyers.

Collecting the entire series was Jake's long-cherished dream, and the four pairs that appeared are also a must-buy for him.

'It's a guarantee that I'll buy all of them: what should I go for, first?'

The 2K Miles Bike is very expensive, and it will take me a long time to save up enough to buy it.

The GOAT Flyers are cheaper, but with four pairs on sale, saving up for them won't be a walk in the park.

It is the fact that he has to spend an extended period of time hunting monsters in between purchases that is the agony for him, which is why he has to be smart.

'I've got to plan for this. Can't go into this blind, have to do this right so I don't spend any more time than I'm supposed to.'

He was in the midst of gawking at the GOAT Flyer on the catalog when the notification came.

[GOAT Flyer collection warehouse sale event has just begun! For more information, please check the Awakening Store!]

'Oh? Okay, I have to check this out.'

It was a welcome bit of good news for Jake: a new event for the GOAT Flyers that just came in stock, and Jake quickly accessed the Awakening Store to see what the event was all about.

He's going to determine the order of the items he'll buy based on this event.

[Sneakerheads, step up!

Are you also a fan of the GOAT? Can you skip meals to save money to buy the same sneakers the GOAT wore?

Then get yourself ready, because in this event, we're not offering one, but TWO sneakers in the GOAT Flyer series!

Our GOAT Flyer #17 has the added effect of improving both maximum mana AND mana regeneration! Play harder, play longer! And our GOAT Flyer #1 will awaken your potential for flight, with the added effect of a massive increase in experience acquisition!

Buy both of these sneakers, and we'll throw in a bonus item, too! The Random Lozenge Box will give you a random Lozenge that increases your stats – not just your basic stats, but hidden ones, too! Give it a try!

Also, since we want you to start your collection GOAT Flyers as soon as possible, we'll also give you a 35% point discount if you buy both of these sneakers at once!]

This event had the most extravagant content so far: a random box that has a random stat-increasing Lozenge, and it also includes hidden stats, too?

'Wait a minute..' Jake thought as he reread the event's contents again. 'Am I seeing what I think I'm seeing?'

He focused on a certain line in the event notification.

"Massive increase in experience acquisition?" Jake asked aloud. "Never heard of that effect."

If Jake had to be honest, he simply collected those shoes because they were collectible, even if they had no item effect. However, this effect is another matter entirely: Jake gets no experience when he hunts monsters, only points.

'What would happen if I wore that pair of GOAT Flyers while hunting monsters? Would that mean I'd gain more points?'

It's a reasonable guess, and if his guess is true..

'This is going to be the greatest item I've ever bought: it's no different from an annual salary increase.

If I get a raise, does that mean I'll save more?

Nah.

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That means I'll shop more. All these extra points will be used for shopping.

For now, I'm going to buy these kicks first, and worry about the rest of the plan once I've got these sneakers on my feet.'

Of course, the price is as ridiculous as the effect it has when worn; it's no match for the GOAT Flyer he already purchased. Plus, since this is the very first GOAT Flyer ever designed, it's considered a limited item compared to the GOAT Flyer he is currently wearing.

'A million points, huh? With that discount, I can buy it at 650,000 points. Why can't I buy all these event items on the installment plan? All these event items are making my installment plan obsolete.'

That was the moment when Jake decided on the next item he was going to buy.

***