Chapter 28: Ready for a date

Leon pushed open the door of the weapon store, and the two of them followed him in.

Racks of swords lined the walls. Spears stood in barrels, and axes hung from hooks. A glass case near the counter held daggers that glowed faintly. The place smelled of oil and polished steel.

"I’ll be honest with you," Leon said. "I don’t know much about weapons, or the magical stuff you use. So you’ll have to make your picks on your own."

Robert and Rika looked at each other.

They did not move. They stood near the door, glancing around at the racks, then back at Leon. He was the one paying, and they could not just wander off and grab whatever caught their eye.

Leon saw the worry on their faces and raised a hand.

"Relax. You each have a budget of twenty thousand credits for a weapon. You can spend as much or as little of it as you want."

He let that sit for a second.

"But you won’t be getting the twenty thousand itself. If you pick something that costs five thousand, you don’t get the other fifteen back. So I’d suggest picking something close to the limit."

Both of them stared at him.

Rika’s mouth dropped open a little. Robert actually took a half step back.

The average hunter used a weapon that cost somewhere between a hundred and a thousand credits. Weapons with any character, with special parts or artifact properties, only started showing up around the two thousand mark. Hunters who went into C and B rank gates usually carried weapons worth five thousand, if they were rich, and up to thirty thousand at the top. A ranked hunters carried weapons that started around fifty thousand and had no ceiling at all.

What Leon was telling them was that they could pick out weapons that would carry them into C rank. They could have the gear of B rank hunters, and he was handing it over like it was nothing.

Robert could not believe it.

He did not want to waste the chance, either. He stepped forward quickly.

"What if we split it?" he said. "Ten thousand for a weapon, and ten thousand for gear we can carry. We’d need both."

"No," Leon said. "Everything else will still get bought. All you have to do right now is pick out what you need for your weapon. The rest comes after."

They realized then what he meant.

He was planning to fund them for more than just the weapons. It sounded crazy. They stared at him, stunned and bewildered, until Leon laughed and waved them away with both hands.

"Go on. Shoo. Go look."

They went, still glancing back over their shoulders.

Leon waited until they were out of earshot, then pulled up the system screen. He transferred half of his current investment credits into his bank account, about two hundred and fifty thousand. He checked what was left. The credits he had come to withdraw were still there, and Viper Limited was still climbing fast.

’Ten million by next week.’

That was what he owed Kate for securing his share of the new gate. He rubbed the back of his neck and let out a sigh.

’I need to go home after the date and put in real work on the investments. I need something that brings in more money.’

He was still thinking about it when footsteps came back toward him.

Robert was the first. He walked up with a long black sword in both hands. The blade was clean and dark, and swirling patterns ran along the length of it that looked like flames. It looked like it had been made by the best smith in the city. A small gem sat in the hilt, glowing faintly.

"This one," Robert said, and his voice had a spark in it that Leon had not heard yet.

"What is it?"

"It’s a wyvern slayer. It’s made from wyvern scales and a special metal alloy. The gem in the hilt stores mana, so I can use it when I need to." He kept talking, quickly, as if he had known about this blade for years and had wanted it for just as long. "The alloy is lighter than steel, but it holds an edge for much longer. And the grip is perfect for my hands."

He swung it around his body a few times. The air whistled.

"How much?" Leon asked.

"Eighteen thousand. It’s under the limit. I know I didn’t hit the mark, but..." He grinned. "I’m happy with it."

Wyverns were C and B rank monsters that showed up in the depths of many B ranked gates, and their skills were very useful. But the sword only carried a touch of them. Full scales were extremely expensive, and it would have been ridiculous to use them all on a single blade. The sword was ninety percent special alloy and ten percent wyvern skill.

It was still a very good sword.

"Good choice," Leon said.

Rika came back a moment later.

She was carrying a slim white staff with a curved head. A crystal was set into the arch at the top, glowing a pure, spotless white. It was a special crystal, the kind harvested from certain gates, thousands of years old. It stored magic, and it let magic flow better, and it could amplify spell casting by ten times or more.

She held it in both hands like it was made of glass. A huge smile had spread across her face.

"This staff," she said, almost whispering. "Look at it."

"It’s beautiful," he said. He meant it.

He took both weapons to the counter and paid. The cashier’s eyes widened a little at the total, but Leon did not blink. They walked out of the store together, with Robert holding his sword and Rika hugging her staff, and Leon flagged down another cab.

The rest of the day went by quickly.

They went from store to store. At one, Leon bought bodysuits for each of them, ten thousand credits apiece. At another, he bought boots, gloves, belts, and pouches. Robert stopped trying to argue after the third shop, and Rika stopped counting. Leon just kept saying, "Anything else you need?"

By the time the sun started going down, they had everything.

The three of them stood together on the sidewalk outside the last store, with bags in their hands.

"That’s it for today," Leon said. "I’ll keep in contact."

"Leon," Robert said. He hesitated. "Thank you."

"Don’t thank me. Just get stronger."

They both nodded, and then they walked off down the street, still talking in low, amazed voices.

Leon watched them go. Then he checked his phone and turned toward home.

It was time to get ready for his date with Sophia.