Again, thanks to Toasty Bread and Part-Time Prick for their reviews.

As for the response to the content of said reviews, I believe you'll find out, soon enough!

Dammit! Why is this so hard? Those circus people make it look so easy!

Turns out, while I can in fact throw knives, hitting things with the knives is a whole different story.

Another whiff - this time I must've put too much power into the throw - and it sails riiight over the target. My target, of course, is yet another Dogoo.

It's staring at me with pity now. I didn't even know they could do that, but it's somehow managing. It's not even making an effort now to keep chasing me, and is just sitting there, turning to watch the knives that sail over, around, and sometimes right in front of it.

I don't know how many knives I've missed. I do know that I've landed about fifty so far, over about twenty Dogoos. I'm only engaging the Dogoos, because they're big, round, and reasonably slow. I don't think I'd be even able to graze anything else in here. Hell knows you start with the easy things first.

The fact that, so far, only one of those kills has actually been just from thrown knives, rather than me just ripping them apart in melee, is really saying something. And I'm pretty sure that the one fatality was from a Dogoo was asleep, since it didn't move at all. Or it just wanted to die. That's also an option.

If the knives didn't disappear a couple of seconds after I throw them, this little killzone I've set up would probably be carpeted in several layers of knives already. As is, the grass will probably recover on its own. I think.

I'm using a killzone, of course: I found a nice, narrow bit of land where the various creatures I aggravate can only come at me one at a time, down a straight path: if they were moving side to side in addition to towards me, my aim would be even worse than it already is.

My effective range with a thrown knife is just a tiny bit longer than six feet. It's rather annoying, actually. I mean, it's still longer than the stick, but nowhere near the ten-feet mark I was hoping to hit at the absolute minimum. These are magic knives, for crying out loud, it's not like I need to judge how much spin to put into a knife.

On the plus side, though, resummoning the knives is a cinch, so if I want to, I'm able to just fling them forward with impunity. That's got its own downside though: I really need the full-arm motion to get anything even resembling accuracy or distance out of my knives. Until I get that down, rapid-fire is entirely out of the question. I mean, if something needs to be drowned in knives with no power, I guess that always works.

Bleh. I guess the only way to get better at this is hard work… Honestly, I wish there was an easier way.

There we go, landed a decent hit, so this jackass Dogoo is finally moving again. I mean, it's got a knife sticking out of it now, so at least that's something, right? The one I took down with just thrown knives ate five before it went down. I'd keep throwing, but this one's too close to the end of my run. I'm going to have to put it down before I hit a wall.

Unfortunately for it, while I can't hit anything with a thrown knife, up close and personal, I definitely know my way around.

I spent about ten minutes earlier going over how best to hold the knives when in melee. That includes practicing swapping my grip quickly, and summoning my knives held in different grips. Yes, it matters. You wouldn't think so, but it definitely does.

Holding a knife edge-out, handle held in standard grip gives a heck of a lot more control than the reverse-grip praying-mantis sort of hold, but mantis-grip gives a heck lot more power to the stabs, as well as being really good at tearing fleshy (or in this case gooey) targets.

Unfortunately, as great as more power is, it's not so great for fast, mobile attacks, so I'm probably going to be sticking to the forward grip most of the time.

If I really need to punch through armor, or execute something, reverse grip is the way to go.

So yeah, I know how to work a knife, as this Dogoo is about to learn. The painful way, of course.

Left knife in, anchor, right knife in, pull sideways and thrust forward. It's not a pretty cut, but it pretty much eviscerates the Dogoo. It's more than enough damage to stun the thing for a moment. I let go of the knives, summoning myself a new set in reverse grip as soon as my hands leave the handles.

I follow up the double slash with a solid kick to the creature's midsection, knocking the slime backwards and onto its rear, before pouncing on the now-prone monster with both knives, aiming for a killing blow.

There we go. Much faster than when I had used the stick. My victim disappears into a cloud of data and a credit chip, which I quickly snag. I banish my knives to wipe my forehead, letting out a shaky breath as I do so. I'm tired, far more tired than I've been in months. I guess all this running around is good for something!

I already fed my watch all of my chips earlier, although with the big pile of little chips I had stored up, it actually took a little while. I'm sitting at umm…

Two thousand, six hundred, and thirty nine credits. I think that's enough to set me for a while.

Well… Two thousand, six hundred, and sixty four now. The watch has just finished processing the new chip.

Actually, the watch says it's six PM now… Damn, where'd the time go? Last time I checked, it was only four!

I should probably go find somewhere to eat, and then rent a room at an inn or something. Sleeping outside isn't something I want to do now, nor ever.

I wonder what food is available here? I remember a lot of the chirpers ingame talking about ramen places, so there's probably a few good ones in Planeptune I could stop in for. As long as I keep Seamus in my inventory, I probably won't be thrown out either: I might be homeless here, but I definitely don't look it.

Right! Next up is to find somewhere to eat.

Well, one thing's for sure, noodle places are good, no matter where they are.

I've always been a fan of Vietnamese Pho back home, and when I couldn't get myself that, I make do with quickly-made soup and ramen. Thus, the nice, big bowl of pork ramen over rice noodles I bought is nothing but tasty. I might've dumped quite a bit of chili sauce into it, enough to get me a weird look from one of the regulars, but so sue me! I love me some spicy soups. If you can't feel the burn, then you aren't living life!

It set me back a couple hundred credits, but if all it takes to have a bowl of delicious soup is to kill monsters for an hour, then I'm all for it. Seriously, if I could have spicy noodle soup every day, I probably would.

Ahh… There we go. Going to finish the soup off. Mmm.

Right.

Well, now that my hunger's taken care of, I guess it's time to find somewhere to sleep for the night. I'm certain that Nepgear, no matter where she is, has executive access to either the Basilicom, or a high-grade inn somewhere, but I'm not a CPU.

I don't think I'd be able to lie my way into a hotel room either, so I guess I'll have to do it legitimately.

Step one, finding an inn, I guess.

Probably stopping at the guild would be a good place to start. Adventurers probably know where the best inns are, right?

I don't recognise the person I ask as anyone of importance to the plot, but it's people like that which make the world go round. This particular girl is a pale-skinned brunette with a raspberry barrette.

And I mean she has a hairpin shaped like a raspberry. It's the same color as the red-hilted short-sword sticking out of her back scabbard.

"Hey, can I ask you a quick question?" I ask, gently raising my voice to get her attention.

"Yeah?" the girl's red eyes turn up to me, from the mission printout she's reading. Apparently, red is a normal eye color in Gamindustri.

Honestly, I chose her entirely at random.

"Do you know where the closest inn is? I'm sorta new here, and I'm hoping to get some advice on where to sleep for the night." I reply.

"Oh, are you a new adventurer?" I can see the girl give me a once-over. Yeah, I can understand why they'd ask that. I resist the urge to strike a pose. I really, really need this information.

I nod back. "It's my first time in Planeptune, that's for sure." I have spoken no falsehoods.

"Well… There's a nice place down the road from here, but it's rather pricey…" she begins, but I cut her off with a shake of my head. Pricey in a world like this likely means "No way" for a newcomer like me.

"I've got a budget of about five hundred credits right now. Are there any places within that limit?"

I swear, I'm getting tired of being stared at in pity. I hate it… It makes me feel small and weak...

"Well, there's a motel over that way in the south district… It's about four hundred fifty credits a night."

Dammit. Dammit dammit dammit!

"And that's the cheapest place?" I groan, as I again glance at my watch in shame. I need to save some credits, or else I won't be able to keep up.

"It's the cheapest place that's still any good." admits the adventurer, as she plays with her hair. A nervous tic perhaps? "There's definitely worse places to spend the night."

"Oh… I guess that'll be fine." I murmur. Better something than nothing. "Thank you."

I'm stopped as I turn to leave. "Wait! If you really need money, then I'm willing to give you enough credits to stay at one of the better hotels for a night…" calls out the adventurer.

I'm torn. I could take the money… but it's not me. I can't…

"No thank you." I speak, but I can tell my voice isn't entirely in it. "I need to do this on my own."

I don't say anything else as I leave the guild for the night.

It seems even Planeptune, the city of Purple Progress, has slums.

Because here I am. In the slums.

The motel is a small place, with about two dozen beds. They're in good condition, a bed per small room, with thick, rough blankets, and a double mattress per frame.

The receptionist is friendly enough. With a practiced forced smile, I'm quickly able to rent myself a room for the night, although I leave open the possibility of returning again. The motel's not even halfway full tonight, if that's so much of a sign as anything.

With some reluctance, I step into my room, and examine just what I've gotten myself into.

The bed has some resemblance to the bed I sleep on at home: several uneven springs poking out into a rough sheet, but the blanket is far lighter, and far more itchy than I'm used to. Part of me shudders in disgust once I remember my lack of clean clothing: my sweaty, dirty clothing is all I have to sleep in.

I'll need to remedy that tomorrow, as soon as the shops open. I need clean clothing, for hygiene's sake, if nothing else.

I shower quickly in one of the four unisex, single-faucet washrooms, before drying off and donning my dirty clothes once again.

I'm going to regret this in the morning.

I lock my room, and take off my jacket, sweater, shoes, socks, and pants, leaving on nothing but my dirty underclothes. The rest, I hang on the door's rack, which will hopefully enough to air them out slightly.

It's barely ten PM when I turn in for the night, but my exhaustion is too much for me to stay awake through.

I don't know if it's from the sheer exhaustion I feel, or if it is just the place I am in, but for the first time in a long while, sleep comes quickly.

Wh...

I was having the strangest dream…

I… Wait...

Why is my entire body sore? I mean, it's happened before… but… Never this sore…

Also...

Ew. Ewwwww...

Why are my clothes so slimy? I must be coming down with something, if I was sweating this much in my sleep. Gonna to need to wash my sheets, for sure!

Did no one wake me up? I can hear the bustle nearby, but usually by now, either my mother or father would wake me up…

Gonna check my clock... I need to figure out what time it is…

My eyes open slowly. The place on the nightstand where my clock would normally be is empty. There's no clock there. There is still things on it, as always, but not my clock. I can't see my closet either.

This isn't my room.

I jolt up in attention. Where… where am I?

My clothes are hanging up on the door. I quickly gather them, and put them on. My wallet's fine, still got my money in it. I'm missing a steam card, but that's no biggie. My phone's gone. Where is my phone? I think my family would at least want to know I'm alive, right?

There's a black and grey watch on the nightstand, right beside a familiar-looking pair of fingerless gloves…

I pick up the watch.

Two PM. One thousand, seven hundred, thirty six… Credits?

Wait.

My breath hitches in my throat. What… Why? Credits?

It wasn't a dream?

I quickly don the gloves, and attempt to summon a knife. In a split second, a now-familiar carving knife is in my hand, edge pointed away from me.

"Oh my god…" I utter.

"What the hell?"