This is a Beta Test?! - A Literally Broken System

Getting robbed was one of the worst things one could ever go through in one\'s life. The fear of getting shanked in the back while being held up was an experience that I never really wanted to go through again. It was stressful. It was tense. Then again, I was also poor enough that I really didn\'t want to let go of my phone without a fight. And that was on top of it having too much stuff in it that I\'d really rather not lose.

Then again, if you were rich, why not just go ahead and give your robbers the stuff you can easily replace?

"Let\'s try this again. Make way, or we\'ll make you make way."

I couldn\'t help but sigh as I stared at the literal kids that somehow managed to herd us into a dark alleyway. Guidance was clearly nonplussed about the whole situation, what with her tapping foot audibly echoing against the walls closing us in. Meanwhile, the would-be thieves were still brandishing their daggers at us like it was going to do something against our armor. Seriously, those things were way too small compared to what we just went through.

"No can do, mister!" kid number one arrogantly declared. "We know you\'re packing, and we want your Chips along with all the stuff you just bought."

"Look, can we just get this over with?" Guidance sighed in annoyance behind me. "Give them a Chip or two if it\'s going to make them leave us alone."

I raised an eyebrow at her words. "What? And encourage them to try again? I don\'t think so."

The kids bristled at the dev\'s suggestion, two of them visibly hesitating as their knees shook beneath their legs. It was kind of pitiful, really.

"Just give us the money already!"

Even as the obvious ringleader stepped forward, I stood my ground as I eyed the level above his head. I didn\'t even bother looking at his name, only focusing on the one part that actually mattered.

[Level 10]

[Level 5]

[Level 8]

Three kids, three low-level scums of the earth for the decision they just made right here and now. And while they could always regret being stupid once they were adults, they were currently kids, and kids needed a bit of direction every now and then.

"Last chance," I sighed, shrugging as I placed my hands behind my back. "Go away, or I\'ll make sure you\'ll never steal again."

I fielded a glare at them that almost made kid two and three bolt from where they stood. Kid one was still going strong, however. Not that he wasn\'t affected though. That cold sweat running down his cheek told me more than enough that the glare I\'ve honed through drawing blood from hundreds of kids was actually working.

"I-It won\'t work, mister!" kid one bravely declared, his grip on his dagger shaking. "We both know you\'re alone! And that lady over there won\'t be able to save you!"

I almost let out a chuckle. Did they seriously think we were just some random people walking around with mysterious weapons strapped on our backs?

Guidance\'s foot stopped moving, her gaze moving towards our young muggers as she frowned. "You did not just insinuate that we\'re defenseless, right? Us?"

"Y-Yeah!" kid two piped up, her own blade shaking as much as her voice. "You\'re both just some rich merchants from Kattleyna, right?!"

"Walking around without your bodyguards was a huge mistake!" kid one backed the other up, his confidence going back up despite our warnings. "Now, we get to rob you!"

I blinked at the kid\'s words, my eyes immediately taking a passing glance up towards the main streets. I saw a few people stop and look, but none of them really bothered to stop by or even try to help. Huh. Something to keep in mind for later then.

"Okay, kid. We gave you enough slack. It\'s time to teach you all a lesson."

Behind my back, I gripped [Blanc and Noir] in both hands. I didn\'t really need both of them, but the extra intimidating factor would probably help make this as bloodless as possible. And seeing that Guidance had elected to just lean by the nearest wall, she was probably going to sit this one out.

Fine by me then.

"Take this!"

Raising an eyebrow, I deftly moved to the side, promptly letting kid number one shoot past me before smacking him by the back of the head using the butt of my right-hand pistol. The kid fell to the ground after that, screaming in pain as he grabbed the back of his head.

"Arggh!"

I chuckled. "So, any other takers?"

Kids two and three were clearly hesitating now, their eyes transfixed at [Blanc and Noir] as they visibly went through their options.

"Look, I\'ll let you all go if you leave us alone," I scoffed, pointing [Blanc] at kid one while [Noir] was lazily twirling in my left hand. "Drag this guy with you as well. And make sure you don\'t rob any other people while you\'re at it."

"Now that\'s just unreasonable," Guidance scoffed behind me, not even bothering to stand up straight as she looked at me. "At least give them something if you don\'t want them to steal anymore."

"Fair enough," I chuckled. "[INV3]"

Holstering [Noir], I accessed my currency inventory and took out a whole Chip from my stack. I was now sitting at around nine of these things as I promptly tossed the surprisingly modern-looking Chip towards kid number two.

"W-Wha-"

"Here. That\'ll hopefully tide you all over until you can find some other means to make ends meet," I nodded at them even as they were still busy gawking at the money I just gave them. "Don\'t go spending it all in one place though."

"T-Thank you..." kid two beamed up at me, tears falling from her face.

"Y-Yeah..." kid three added, already moving to drag kid one by the ankles. "Sorry..."

"Just don\'t go robbing people willy-nilly next time," I chuckled. "And if you really have to, pick better targets."

"Wait! We\'re not done here-"

The two kids nodded at my advice before they promptly dragged their friend kicking and screaming. Seeing them leave the alley, I let out a sigh as I turned to face Guidance. We were in the middle of our impromptu date when we, for some godforsaken reason, decided that we wanted to take a shortcut towards the next street over. One thing led to another, and we suddenly found ourselves staring down a few daggers for our time.

Granted, nothing really happened. But still, it was kind of an inconvenience.

"Did you really just tell them to go rob the less prepared?" Guidance shook her head at me. "Even for you, that\'s a pretty low move."

"I\'m pretty sure they\'ll go back to robbing people regardless of what I said," I shrugged, holstering my other weapon as I took my place beside the dev once more. "At the very least, the next time they do it, they won\'t end up killing themselves out of sheer bad luck."

"How thoughtful of you then," she chuckled. "Still, where were we before all of that happened?"

I hummed in thought before I responded, "Well, we were right in the middle of our date."

"Don\'t call it that," she quickly protested, her blush really making her shine as we walked out onto the streets. "We\'re not really an item yet..."

"I think that ship already sailed days ago, Guidance," I lightly smiled at her. "Besides, is it really that bad?"

"Well, no?"

"Then why stop it from happening?" I asked with an amused tone. "I know full well that you\'re not as much of a prude as you\'d like to act, what with you obviously wanting to get Shizu back into our bed."

"D-Don\'t say that out loud!"

I couldn\'t help but laugh even as Guidance hit me in the arm, her protests doing little to damper my mood as we casually made our way back to the market square. Truly, having a girlfriend was one of the best things to experience in life, especially if she was as nuanced and fun to tease as Guidance.

"You\'re thinking about me again, aren\'t you," she accused with a pout. "Stop it."

Easy.

"What? You want me to stop thinking about how cute and beautiful you are like this?" I fired back with a smirk.

"W-Wha-Wha-"

Smiling, I placed my hand on her head, giving her a short pat even as her blush deepened further with every second of contact. Inwardly, I was squeeing at how adorable the dev was being as she just stood and took my affection, her gaze glancing back and forth as if struggling to decide what to do.

"L-Let\'s just wait for the others," she promptly said, finally stopping me from petting her after what seemed like minutes of ruffling her hair. "I\'m sure they\'re on their way back by now."

I shrugged, "Okay then."

Taking my seat beside her on the nearest bench, I let out a satisfied sigh as we just basked in our presence.

Life is good...

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