CHAPTER 286: NOT A BIG DEAL.

Despite his current hideout being at the edge of Hollowgrid, Dante failed to visit Lev as often as he would have liked. In fact, he hadn’t checked up on him since that time with Boris, and that’s while having that deal they made back then.

Dante had to ask his overweight friend to drive him to the location, since he couldn’t ride his bike just yet. They made it there before long, and after evading all the traps marked with the Super Crunch wrappers, I entered the building through the trash-filled container and made my way to the basement. Soon enough, he was standing by the secret doors, waiting as they slowly parted.

"Hey Lev, been a while." He said, having noticed that the Alchemist was still absorbed in his work. "I brought you a sandwich."

The last word seemed to draw a reaction, and the dark silhouette turned, taking the form of a humanoid creature with a long beak. A second later, it exited the translucent partition and dropped the costume, leaving only a skeleton behind.

"DANTE!"

With a wide smile on his weathered face, Lev lunged at Dante and embraced him in a tight hug. Not the most comfortable of experiences, considering the tall man was practically skin on bones, not to mention how he was in his underwear. Patting him on the back to put an end to it, Dante pulled away then held up the paper bag he was holding.

"FOOD! Thanks, buddy! I have been starving!"

Lev snatched the bag and quickly made his way to a corner of the lab. Surprisingly, he made sure to wash his hands before opening the bag. Inside were a few sandwiches from one of the restaurants near Joystreet, some made from synthetic tuna, others from ham. There was also a large soda to go with the meal.

"Man! Been a while since I had real food!" Lev said, biting half a sandwich in one go.

"You think this is real food?" Dante asked. "What have you been eating so far?"

"Dry rations, what else?" Lev replied.

"No wonder all bones."

Being a wanted man, the Alchemist couldn’t just drop by a restaurant whenever he felt peckish, and he obviously couldn’t order takeout. Of course, that had almost nothing to do with his extremely thin build.

"Man, you’re a lifesaver, Dante." Said Lev after downing his soda.

"Don’t mention it," Dante replied. "So. Viktor said you need me for something?"

"Hm? Oh yeah! I contacted him the other day. He said you needed work."

Dante raised an eyebrow at him.

"You got a gig for me?"

"I have something that needs to be delivered." Said Lev. "You don’t mind carrying drugs, right?"

"You don’t have to tell me what’s in the package, you know?" Dante sighed. "I just need to drop it off, right?"

"Yup. That said, the location is a bit..."

"Just spit it out already."

Though he kept his usual smile on, the bony man didn’t say anything for a while. The dark pits he had for eyes shone with a neon green light, and pushing his hesitation aside, he said in an even tone.

"The Pit."

The word seemed to echo in the underground hideout, somehow magnifying the barely present tension until it reached intolerable levels.

"Lev, I know you’re insane, but..."

"C’mon, buddy! It’s not that big of a deal!"

"You want me to deliver something to the Pit," Dante said, suddenly feeling a little tired. "How is it not a big deal?"

"Relax, you won’t be going that deep. Only the second level."

"The second level..."

"Yup. Just the second level." Lev nodded. "You just need to get in there, drop the package, and get you. It won’t take you an hour."

"I’m not worried about time." Pressing his lips into a thin line. "How do I say it... There is no way this gig will turn out the way you think."

"What? Why?"

"That’s just how it feels." Dante sighed. "I’m telling you, if I go deliver this package, I can guarantee you that some mess will drop on my head out of nowhere."

As a merc, Dante had long since learned that jobs rarely, if ever go the way they’re planned. One needed to be flexible and adjust to the circumstances, but no amount of flexibility would help when the relic you’re trying to steal turns out to be the objective of a team of superheroes.

Dante didn’t want to wake up in a hospital bed so soon after the last time so a job that would take him to one of the most dangerous parts of the city held negative charm.

"Well, it’s okay if you don’t want to. The payment is 10K, though."

"Ten-" The words got stuck in Dante’s throat.

"Gold, just so you know." Lev smiled. "Well, if you don’t want it, I can always-"

"Never said I won’t do it." Coughing in his hand, Dante fixed the bony man with a stern look. "Throw in another 2k and I will guarantee that it will get there without trouble."

"Make it five, and let’s call it a bonus. You’ll get it only if something happens while you’re there. If everything works out just fine, you’ll only get the base pay."

"Deal."

~[ ]~

After asking for the details, Dante took the package and left Lev’s underground hideout. Since the timeline for the delivery was open, he saw no need to get it done on the same day so he had Boris drop him by the Bowl of Fortune.

Returning to his apartment after having lunch, Dante grabbed a glass and went to his bed. He switched outfits through the Equip screen, putting on something comfortable to sleep in. Opening the Storage screen next, he took out a water bottle and the RED box, preparing to take his meds.

His gaze happened to brush over Lev’s package, which he had placed in his Storage to avoid the small chance of people finding out what it was. Just then, a strange feeling slowly arose in the back of his mind, making him feel like he forgot to do something before coming home.

Absentmindedly scrolling down the list of stored items, one of the entries caught his attention, and something seemed to click at that moment.

"... fuck."

He forgot the reason why he visited the Alchemist in the first place.