CHRONICLES of a PC Gamer Stuck Inside an RPG (Book One: Duelist)

Chapter 21 - Banking

Unlike yesterday, the cat girl did not get down on all four paws and race out of the common room. Instead, she continued to stay upright and walked at my pace.

"Thank you for following me home last night," I said quietly.

Kalistra's ears and tail twitched at my comment. "I don't know what you're talking about." She pointedly looked away from me while making this denial.

"You may be a master swordswoman but you're a lousy stalker," I continued.

The cat girl immediately stopped in her tracks and turned to face me. She put her hands on her hips and said, "I'm NOT a stalker." She huffed and started walking faster.

I graciously allowed her to have the last word and continued walking behind her. Just a few minutes later, we stood in front of the bank. It was a large, stand-alone building made of stone. A large, iron door was opened inward. Standing guard in front of the bank were two heavily armored members of the Watch, each wearing a hauberk and carrying halberd; each guard also wore a sword sheath at the belt.

When I approached the entrance, the two men watched me closely with their hawk-like eyes. As I passed by the duo I saw that their equipment was sparkling and I briefly felt the heat emanating from them. Suddenly, I received a pop-up that read, "Innate Ability Acquired: Magic Sense, Level 1. +100 XP." I looked more closely at the guards and saw a light blue hue surrounding their chest armor while their swords discharged a faint red hue. "Are the guards wearing magical equipment?" I whispered to my guide.

Kalistra's eyes gleamed at my question. "How do you know they're wearing magical gear?" she whispered back.

"I sensed it somehow," I replied with a shrug.

The cat girl stared at me for a moment and then continued walking. Her tail whip lashed angrily. There was NO WAY an unprofessional human could innately sense magic! Only mages who trained for years may acquire this rare and invaluable ability; supposedly only one in a thousand will eventually develop this ability. This stupid human must be lying or playing another stupid game!

When we entered the bank, I saw a few teller windows on the left side. On the right side were rows upon rows of lockboxes of various sizes. In the middle of the room were over a dozen tables where some customers were sorting out their valued possessions or coins. Further back were stairs leading up to the next floor. I also noticed a number of guards patrolling the room. Frankly, the setup wasn't very different from the retail banks back home aside from the guards.

Kalistra elbowed me in the ribs. "If you're done gawking at this place, let's go to the teller window and make your deposit. I will NOT be late returning to the dojo today!" she scolded.

I briefly felt a sharp pain on the left side of my rib cage and a pop-up appeared. I ignored the pop-up, which will probably show "-1 Health." I followed my master's order and walked up to the next available window. The window had a glass panel at face level. Underneath the panel, at chest level, there was a slot with a hole at the bottom of the slot. Beneath that was a numeric panel and next to the numbers was a smooth, white stone on the right side. And beneath the panel was another slot; this last slot was at around my knees.

Behind the glass panel, I saw a wizened looking non-human wearing thick glasses. He had a very big nose and round jaw. He didn't look like a dwarf. Perhaps, he was a gnome.

After a moment, the impatient bank teller looked back at me and sighed. "Sir, you're holding up the line. You put your deposit into the slot at your chest. The bank's coins counter will show your deposit. You put your right palm against the identifier stone on the right. It will read your name and our bank ledger will automatically update your account," he explained.