The Legendary Junkmaster

When they arrived outside of Highrise, Jason could finally see just how massive the structure was. It had left them behind and was already settled down just outside of the walls. The massive jellyfish-like system stood upright with what should be its tentacles supporting the entire metallic structure. 

A crowd had already formed outside of it as it loomed over the town, making the walls look tiny in comparison. Jason sighed as he saw it even though his eyes were sparkling at its magnificence. 'Rust's power is off the charts. It's a lot larger than I thought it was.' Jason was confident that if everyone in Highrise were to step inside that, there would still be plenty of room left over.

The crowd standing outside was growing excited, and Jason wanted to join them, but Harry grabbed his arm and pointed to another gathering. "Rust won't come out. Everyone's who's seen this before are all waiting over there."

Jason raised an eyebrow as he noticed that the second crowd were all old-timers around his grandfather's age. 'Wait, then how old is Rust?' Jason was perplexed when he thought of that. If his Gramps and these other old coots had seen it before, then Rust had to have been a guardian for a long time.

Jason could not even begin to fathom how old he might possibly be. It made him realise that he had to be more careful when it came to older Powered individuals. There was no telling how powerful their abilities had become over time!

"Trust me, we'd get more out of it if we went back to the store and prepared for the rush that's about to happen." Harry grinned when he thought about the opportunity to earn a bunch of credits. 

Jason could only shake his head at his grandfather's enthusiasm. He had recovered from his experience in the Nest far too quickly, and it was thanks to money! 'If only everyone could get over everything so easily!' 

Jason soon noticed that the crowd of old-timers were steadily making their way back inside. Which pretty much confirmed the truth of what his grandfather had said. Since there was no point in hanging around here, Jason could only start wondering what sights he would see once the tournament got underway.

He would be lying if he said he was not interested in seeing other people's powers and how they put them to use. He even hoped that it might inspire him to think of something to generate a schematic for. 

No sooner than when Jason had opened up Star Gear did a familiar face appear in the doorway while wearing a nervous expression. 'Adam? What's he doing here?' Jason frowned upon seeing the youth from the butchers next door. They had not spent any time together unless it involved business, which Harry mostly handled. 

"Can I help you, or are you planning on standing there all day?" Jason eventually asked when he noticed that Adam had not moved.

"Ugh, sorry if this is a bad time," Adam replied with an awkward tone as he rubbed the back of his head. "It's about what we discussed when you first took over this place."

Adam's expression turned hopeful as he turned pleading eyes on Jason. 'What we discussed?' Jason's frown deepened as he remembered Adam asking him to make equipment for the tournament. However, it all depended on whether Adam could convince his dad to provide them with certain materials.

"What about it?" Jason's interest had piqued as he looked at him curiously.

"Well, I was wondering when it would be ready?" 

Jason let a shocked expression appear on his face. "What are you talking about?"

This time it was Adam's turn to appear baffled. It was only when the pair heard Harry groaning did they realise where the misunderstanding had come from.

"My bad, I forgot to tell you."Harry sighed as he glanced at Jason. "His father gave us quite a good deal, so I agreed that you make him something."

"Why would you do that!" Jason exclaimed in anger. After all, he had not seen a single material from this deal.

"Ah, if it's about your furs and leathers, Harry asked us to store them for you." Adam realised that Harry had messed up quite severely and moved to cover him. "We were waiting on you collecting them since Harry was unsure what you would actually want. I thought that maybe you were just making something from what you already had and wanted to make the exchange once you completed it."   

Jason felt like slapping the pair for being so idiotic. After all, Adam had mentioned a problem with his power, so how could Jason just give him something generic? It would have to be a custom order!

"Forget it! Since the deal has already been made, if you know what materials you want me to use, bring them over. You'll have to give me a rundown of your power as well, or anything I make will be useless." Jason groaned. The only good thing was that Adam would serve as an advertisement for his craft alongside Dani.

Adam quickly disappeared as if he were afraid that Jason might change his mind. 'I'll have to take a look at what they've stored. Maybe they've got something that could be useful for Dani as well.' This deal that Harry had somehow managed to forget about actually saved Jason quite a bit of effort.

He had considered going back to the ant graveyard to get materials for Dani's equipment, but this solved that problem. 'With a bit of luck, I might end up getting the better deal out of this.' When Adam returned carrying a bundle of different skins, furs and bones, Jason could not help but be surprised. 'This haul is actually a lot better than I thought it would be!'

However, Adam's following words really made Jason's jaw hit the floor.

"This is only the stuff I was considering for myself. There's too much in our storeroom for me to bring it all here." Adam huffed as he placed the bundle on the counter.