How shocked I was to discover the secret of my secret tool; it was a replacement for me! -93.4 Seconds Post-Integration.

  "A loan? Okay... what kind of interest would that entail?" Clark was happy he remembered to ask. Loans with interest weren't a thing in the Wastes. His parents, though, who had done some traveling before settling down, had told him about such things and how to navigate them. Namely, that he should never accept a loan with an interest rate which was too high.

  "The rates are reasonable, I assure you," Hermes said. "The interest would only a few hundred credits, bringing your total to three thousand for the loan. Paid back at such a rate over the course of so long... let's see," the man made some more calculations. "Yeah. That would only take you a fiscal quarter to repay. Not bad at all. And it looks like you are making enough money to pay back your primary loan, so all is well there."

  Because he didn't have a mirror on him, he couldn't be sure. But Clark thought his face drained of color. Simply the idea of repaying another loan made him sick.

  And yet, what choice did he have?

  "Okay... let's get the loan set up." He felt like he was selling his family, but it wasn't so dramatic.

  "Wonderful! You know, I don't take pride in setting these loans up, but I'm also no predator. There's a lot of situations where people need to take out a loan. If invested well and well-managed, a loan is the difference between living as a pauper and living -- one day! -- as a lord." Clark had no idea if what Hermes was saying was true or bull. He guessed he hadn't been alive long enough to figure it one way or another. "Give me a few minutes and I will send over the contract."

  He looked to his friends again but they each had the same plain, hard look to them, like they were small children being disciplined by their parents and thought better about staying quiet than risk further abuse. Clark shared their mental state. He wanted this whole transaction to be done and over.

  Moments later a notification brought him out of his abstraction.

  [New Transaction Agreement Ready for Viewing: Open: Y/N?]

  He blinked the transaction agreement open.

  The agreement was lengthy. And he read every line of it.

  As he read, Hermes made them all another round of drinks. He even brought them snacks. Vegetables and ranch dip with sweetened lemonade and fruits, then cheeses and crackers. All were of the highest quality and burst with flavor with each bite.

  Finished reading, Clark affixed his signature to the agreement. A mentalization of his actual signature which the store had on hand from his entry paperwork.

  Theo and Hera must've had notifications as well since they appeared distracted right after he finished reading his contract. That made sense. They would need to give verification on their loans. The System wouldn't remove credits from their account for his own benefit based on verbal agreements. If it wasn't done through the System, then it meant nothing.

  A new flurry of notifications then came in rapid succession.

  Notifications for the loans he received from his friends; notifications of the contract going to Hermes, waiting for Hermes signature, and Hermes having signed; notification of funds dispersed; notification of funds withdrawn; notification of item transfer ownership; and, finally, a notification of how his check would face deductions to repay not only the loan he took out to pay for the multi-tool but to repay Theo since, that too was part of the contract.

  When everything was said and done, the only notification which mattered was the final one: [Transaction Completed].

  "Very good, lad!" Hermes said. "Our transaction is complete. Wait here a moment as I go and find your item."

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  Hermes left through a hidden door, leaving he and his buddies alone.

  Clark took the moment to speak to his friends. "Guys? Thank you for the loans. Well, money. You might not want to be paid back, Hera, but Theo, I will pay you back as soon as I can."

  "It's fine, dude. You'll pay me back. Don't stress over it." Theo's eyes were barely open as he spoke. He had discovered the massage feature on his chair, so he was preoccupied with receiving many pleasurable shakes and mends.

  "Same," was all Hera said on the matter.

  "Still... it's a lot of money and I appreciate it. A multi-tool's an important thing to have. And because of you, I have it. I don't take it lightly." At that, he stopped speaking. He didn't want to overly belabor his point and annoy his friends.

  Which was fine anyway since Hermes walked back into the room moments later with a silver case in hand.

  Hermes brought over a mini desk on wheels and plopped the case on and before him. "And now for the item you've sought and bought."

  The case opened revealing--

  A handheld scanner?

  "Huh..." was the word he couldn't contain.

  Hermes picked up on his confusion: "I know this isn't the kind of multi-tool you were expecting. Obviously, you weren't going to receive the sort of tool you've seen managers use. Any tool you've seen used since your time employed here would be a much newer model than this -- or older, depending on who you've seen and how traditional they are... but even then, those tools would've been upgraded from here to eternity..."

  Clark scrunched forward to get a better look at the multi-tool. It looked like a handheld item scanner. Of the sort he had used on the Front-End when he would help the cashier ring in heavy items the customer placed under their carts. This scanner looked a little like a blaster from one of the sci-fi movies Theo had shown him, sleek with a slightly curved frame.

  "I will send over the proof of ownership now. With that, you'll be able to lock the multi-tool to your Augustford Account." Hermes pinged his System Link a couple of times. Seconds later, Clark received a notification.

  [You Have Received a Proof of Ownership: Multi-Tool: Generation 5: Apply to Account: Y/N?]

  He blinked a confirmation for the 'Y.'

  [You Have Successfully Applied Proof of Ownership: Multi-Tool (Generation 5) to your Augustford Account]

  "Take the tool, but the case is mine. Pure silver. Too valuable to part with. I will give you a nice leather holster, though." Hermes removed from a partially hidden compartment on the cover's interior a leather getup. He quickly demonstrated how to put it on before walking Clark through how to attach it himself. Clark chose to wear the holster on the upper portion of his right leg. Though Hermes did tell him the holster was versatile, so he could stick it pretty much anywhere on his body which had purchase.

  Leather holster in hand, well, on his leg, he then picked up his purchase.

  The Multi-Tool was lightweight. He wanted to say weightless, but that wasn't true. It had just enough weight that it wouldn't fly from his grip.

  "Here's an instructional booklet." Hermes gave him a physical pamphlet. "That is filled with the basics. How to use, how to recharge and care for the item. It's all straightforward. On that model, you don't need to even plug it in to charge. You do if you want to use it at max efficiency, but otherwise, it will remain useful even if you never plug it in. I should mention that is only a base model. Be ready to upgrade that puppy if you want the full experience."

  He tucked the pamphlet into his satchel and slotted his multi-tool into his holster.

  "Thank you for your Honor, sir!" Clark stuck his hand out for a shake. "You didn't need to work with me the way you did, with the missive and the loan, but you did, and I am grateful for it. Thank you!"

  Hermes took his hand in a firm grip. "You are very welcome, young Champion! You proved your own Honor to the store today, even though our prey escaped. So, I am more than happy to work with you now and maybe in the future!"

  Rising from her seat, Hera suddenly spoke. "Future? You mean from retirement?" she teased.

  "People can have working retirements!" Hermes teased back. Hera chuckled.

  Hermes took a step back to apprise his appearance. "Phew! System Link, leather satchel, multi-tool, what an odd sight you look! I'm half-surprised you don't have one of those Mobile Office Cubes! A bit out of the range of the normal employee, though." Hermes laughed.

  For a moment, it was impossible not for him to think back to his dorm, and the very existent Mobile Office Cube he had tucked away in there after SIMP had warned him against activating the mysterious gift. To Hermes, he smiled. "If only!"

  Hermes shook his hand again and made everyone a final round of age-appropriate drinks. Chit-chat proceeded for some minutes. Once the drinks were had, he placed his hands akimbo on his hips and said, "Ah, refreshing! I must end our dalliance here, alas! Clark. Our transaction is done. I wish you the very best!"

  Everyone got up from their seats and followed Hermes over to the door. They returned to the grungy, dust-covered interior of the 'Awesome Express Delivery' hall though Hermes did not go with them. "I trust you can find you way out, yes?" they jokingly said, pointing to the door.

  "Yes, yes," Clark smiled and said back.

  Back outside in the connecting zone, the mysterious space of the delivery hall behind them and seemingly another world, the sights and sounds were the same: marching Containment Troops, the rumble of mechanical two-legged battle walkers, and the shouting of orders.

  Of course, one thing was different: this time, he had a fancy new weapon.