The group paused near the Songbird Tavern, where dozens were waiting in a long queue.
[Group: Sato] Is that the Songbird line?
[Group: Ringo] Nope... That's the line for QJ's guns.
QJ checked the time. "We close at 1700. That's in two minutes."
Ringo nudged him, nodding toward a group of familiar silhouettes. "Damon and his A-team."
QJ fought the urge to grin as Foley stepped up and flipped the hanging sign to Closed. "Brave…"
More than two dozen disgruntled customers turned daggers in their eyes toward the shop... but none dared risk a ban this close to getting their hands on a custom weapon.
"Sorry, folks," Foley called out, looking exhausted. He'd been working nonstop with only a short lunch break. "We reopen tomorrow at 0900."
[Basilisk: Roman] What shit luck...
[Basilisk: Galaxia] Maybe not. There's QJ.
[Basilisk: Damon] Let the crowd clear before we talk to him.
[OP: Ringo] Gonna log for a bit.
QJ waited until the last of his team had logged before strolling back toward the shop. "How long were you waiting?"
"A few hours," Galaxia replied, lounging like it was nothing. "I can't do anything with stock weapons."
"Well… come on in." QJ gave a nod to his two shop assistants. "You guys are good to go. I've got this."
Inside, Damon's group gravitated to the display wall. Roman picked out a pair of [Thunder] pistols. Rory grabbed the [Runaway] rifle. Damon and Ella each went for a swordgun.
QJ turned to Galaxia. "Right... you use that bearded long-handled axe, don't you?" He crouched and pulled open a drawer, revealing rows of axe handles—hardwood, bone, metal, composite. "Ordered these after Damon mentioned your setup. Haven't done anything with them—until now."
Galaxia's grin could have lit a torch. She ran her hands over the handles, testing grips, giving a few practice swings, even smelling the finish on one.
"This one's nice," she said, lifting a black bone handle.
QJ nodded and set it on the bench. "I can build a decent shotgun into that. Three shell types, I'm trying to decide what works best."
Galaxia clapped. "Oh man... I can shoot things?"
QJ laughed. "You'll be terrifying."
The door creaked open behind them.
"We're closed," QJ said, not looking.
Bianca Ito stepped halfway in, brown eyes scanning the room. "Pretty crowded for being closed."
"They're friends." QJ leaned against the counter. "What do you want, Ito?"
"You targeting us?"
QJ raised an eyebrow. "You can't be serious. My face is plastered all over Basalt. You think I'm targeting you?"
"I'm just asking."
"I came for a simple errand. I would have been in and out if I could. You put a bounty on my head, Ito. Maybe I should return the favor. Think you'd still get into the Painted Lady or the Songbird if folks knew you had a bounty on me?"
Bianca frowned. "That's just business."
QJ crossed his arms. "Right. Targeting me is business, but when someone takes aim at your alliance, it's personal?"
"Yeah, that's stupid," Ella Ye chimed in, stepping up with her new sword gun. "Can I check out?"
QJ waved her off. "You're good. One-time discount. No charge."
Ella blinked. "Really?"
[Whisper: Damon\QJ] You need backup?
[Whisper: QJ\Damon] I'm good. She's no threat.
[Basilisk: Damon] We should go.
A few minutes later, only QJ and Bianca remained.
"We got off on the wrong foot," Bianca said, exhaling. "How about I drop the bounty?"
QJ shrugged. "Or I just visit the Proving Ground daily. I mean, you want me, right? Step out of those turtle shells and grab me."
"Easy," Bianca said, raising her hands in mock surrender. "Let's work it out. Where's all this hostility coming from?"
"I can't do anything about the Dwarf King's bounty," Bianca said, eyes drifting to the stock weapons on the wall, "but the Iron Mount Alliance will step back from offering any more rewards."
She let out a heavy sigh. "Let's get along..."
"Pass," QJ replied, already motioning toward the door. "We're closed. Come back during business hours."
Ito hesitated, but didn't say another word. She slipped out, letting the door close behind her.
QJ exhaled and turned back to the workbench. The moment passed. It was time to build.
He melted down the Sakri steel and carefully formed two sliding sleeves—one for each end of the black bone handle Galaxia had chosen. Clamping the handle in place, he etched shallow slots down its length, perfectly opposite each other.
This wasn't just another dual-purpose gun. QJ was building something unique—an axe-gun hybrid. The axe head would serve as the muzzle for a twelve-gauge pump shotgun, while the rear end would fire a secondary payload: two specialty shells, one flashbang, one smoke. A selector switch in the lower sleeve would toggle the secondary barrel. Two independent pump mechanisms. Fully integrated. It was ambitious. Maybe reckless.
"This probably won't work at all," QJ muttered. He wasn't really talking to anyone—just pushing the doubt out of his head.
Since the latest class patch, his Gunsmith path no longer gave character XP for creations. Instead, it now leveled through a new Gunsmith Ranking system. QJ pulled up his HUD and studied the change. His crafting skills were now siloed—separate from combat. A hard nerf, no question. Most of his level gains had come from forging legendary-grade weapons and Magnum Opus designs.
Now? He'd have to build his legacy, one shot at a time.
The door creaked open.
QJ frowned. "Didn't I lock that—?"
"Sure you did." A colorful figure stepped inside, a bright orange bandana tied around wild hair. "But I've got a key, too."
QJ lit up. "Uncle Jangles!"
He set his tools aside just as the rest of the group walked in.
"And Uncle Hashtag!" QJ grinned, embracing the hulking figure. Hashtag squeezed him in a bone-rattling hug.
Twin shadow blades were strapped over his back, and though his comically oversized ears gave him a playful look, there was nothing funny about the man in combat. Hashtag was a whirlwind in motion. A known terror.
It was common knowledge throughout Exodus: TAP not only housed the most powerful NPCs in the world, it was also home to the three most feared players—Jangles, Hashtag, and Q.
The third didn't keep them waiting. A figure in nondescript guard armor stepped inside, grinning.
"Hey, QJ," the city guard said.
QJ's smile widened. "Hey, Dad."
It was Percival, or rather, the NPC Assassin that Q's player used as a cover identity. The hidden class behind that simple name was one of the most feared in Exodus.
QJ hugged his father tightly. Of all the TAP classes, NPC Assassin was the one he admired most.
"What brings you here? Business inspection?"
Jangles chuckled. He'd seen the lines earlier. "Business is booming," he said. "But we're not here for that. Is Ringo around?"
QJ pulled up his HUD. "She's offline. Want me to ping her?"
"We've got a target in Martial Law," Jangles said. "She expressed interest in going with us."
QJ nodded. "How soon?"
"Now," Q said simply.
Even altered by 30% for anonymity, anyone who knew Q would recognize him the moment he opened his mouth.
"Also," he added, "I want to give you a quest."
QJ blinked. "Wait—you can do that?"
Q just shrugged.
[Exodus System Message] Guardsman Percival has offered you a TAP World Quest.Legendary Quest: Find Your PathDescription: Walk the legendary Assassin's Path. Take your first step and battle the best assassins in all of Exodus.
[Exodus System Message] A TAP Token has been placed in your inventory.[TAP Token](No-Drop Item)Description: Your gateway to enter and exit TAP at will.