Buying weapons ended up taking longer than Max had anticipated. He’d actually been expecting more people to be curious about the golems following them, slow the group down that way. Luckily, almost nobody actually even seemed to have noticed. That was great. But actually finding what he was looking for had proven difficult and time-consuming.

The biggest problem was finding the throwing knives for Momo and rapier for Eolas. He hadn't told Momo that he was even getting her any weapons on this trip to the central area, but after he picked up a spear for Tessa and a great sword for Benjamin, she must have put two and two together because she started acting strangely shy.

Max finally found the rapier for Eolas at Blade and Bow, his favorite weapon shop. Amy was working there again. Max walked quickly so he was ahead of his group when he raised a hand and said, "Hey Amy, good to see you again." The clerk looked up from her work on a pad of paper and beamed at Max. The pink streaks she’d had in her hair before were gone. She seemed to have a new look.

"Good to see you again too, Max! Do you have more business for me today?" Then her eyes moved behind him, and she said, "Are these some of your friends?"

"Yeah," said Max, "The handsome guy is my friend Lance, that’s his girlfriend Belle, and the girl with red eyes is Momo."

"Oh." Max could have imagined it, but he thought Amy's smile became a bit strained. "And is Momo your girlfriend?"

Momo walked up. "No," she said, "but I think he's thinking about it. I made an offer."

"I see," said Amy. "Well, you know where everything is in the store. Feel free to browse. If you have any questions, I'll be here." Then she got back to whatever she was doing with her pad of paper and a pencil.

Lavinia whispered in Max's mind, I told you that she has a thing for you!

Yeah, whatever, thought Max. He had to admit it was possible now, but he still couldn't understand why Lavinia had always seemed to dislike the friendly clerk. Now Momo was acting very strange as well, throwing glances at the front counter while browsing around the shop.

That was when Max truly noticed for the first time how pretty Amy really was. He wasn’t blind, so he intellectually knew she was very cute, but he didn’t let himself…linger on any beauty if he could help it. Max wasn’t a window shopping sort of person, at least not when it came to women. It was easier to deal with other people fairly when he wasn’t letting his libido do its best to make him act stupid.

The vibe in the store was throwing him now, though. All of his visits before had been fun and friendly, but things were frosty now at Blade and Bow. He could feel a chill. Even though he usually chose not to fixate on irrelevant things around him, Max did have experience with people and the ability to notice what was going on. All the women in the store were suddenly making pointed looks or doing weird, passive aggressive things to show their irritation. What the hell?

Max had lived two lifetimes and hundreds of years, but women could still confuse the hell out of him. Why in the hell do Momo and Belle dislike Amy? But then Amy doesn't seem to like Momo either. What kind of catty bullshit is this?

Max decided to stop worrying about it. It didn't matter, and he was in the store for a reason. He found a rapier that would work after searching almost the rest of the store. It didn't take long to hash out a deal with Amy for the weapon after that, and it went into the big, thick burlap bag that Max was carrying over his shoulder with all his other purchases for the day.

Before they left the store, Amy smiled at Max and said, "You know, sometimes I get some interesting deals in here. You seem to still be searching for something."

"Really? Well, it is true that I'm still looking for a sword," said Max.

"Well, why don't you give me your contact information for your tablet, and I can forward you information on any interesting pieces we get in."

"Really? You can do that?"

"Yes. All of the shops in the Quartet have their own tablets, similar to the ones that students receive. Of course, as somebody who lives in the central area, I don't get a tablet unless I buy one. I can't afford one yet." Amy smiled and shrugged.

"Well, I think I can probably use updates and such," said Max. He scribbled his contact information on a slip of paper and gave it to Amy before he left the store.

As the group walked down the street to the next weapon shop Max wanted to visit, Lance dropped back to whisper, "That was pretty bold of you to give her your number right in front of Momo. She is hot, though."

"What the hell are you talking about?" asked Max. "Me and Momo aren't even dating. And that wasn't for Amy's personal tablet."

"Sure, that might technically be true," said Lance, "but I know what it looked like." He gave Max a suggestive grin and a thumbs up.

Max rolled his eyes. He had more important things going on in his head than this rom-com level silliness that his friend was cooking up. He made a face and thought about the next store they were heading to until he interrupted himself with an embarrassing thought. What if Lance was right? He didn't have any romantic plans on anybody right now. Max also really didn't want to ruin his relationship with Amy, who had been an excellent buyer and supplier of weapons so far, nor with Momo, who was already a friend, a confidant, and a comrade in arms.

Max frowned, feeling frustrated, but then gently corrected himself. Perhaps people trying to find a little bit of happiness in an otherwise horrible situation wasn’t the problem. They just weren’t focusing on the same things he was to manage it, and it all probably came down to a difference of personality.

When he’d been Chasa de Milo, Max had been much less forgiving–much more judgmental. After all, he’d fought his way from the bottom to the top. But now that he’d been on earth, grieving for years over his murder and the loss of his family, he had gained too much perspective to be that self righteous anymore.

Whether this life or the last one, he also had a habit of ignoring romance unless his life was stable and otherwise happy. It could be a strength and weakness. He had to admit to himself that he’d probably been being deliberately obtuse for a while now. Drowning his worries and stress in someone’s arms would be nice…maybe too nice.

Dammit, I hate introspection sometimes, he thought. The uncomfortable feelings he was having was proof that he was probably gaining wisdom, though. In his experience, whether it was muscles hurting after a workout, a cut healing, or working through emotional issues, pain was a necessary part of…getting better.

There was probably some sort of lesson in that. Or perhaps the universe was just cruel.

Suddenly, something else occurred to him from the conversation about the tablets.

At the next weapon store the group visited, The Flying Dagger, Max was pleased to see a wider selection of throwing weapons. He gravitated towards a set of vicious-looking throwing stars. Now that he'd talked to Momo about her weapon choice, Max knew she was far more familiar with firearms than blades. At the moment, he was approaching the task of finding her the right gift more as an instructor than as a friend.

Max finally found the perfect weapons for Momo, but winced when he saw the price. It was going to use up almost half of the rest of his available funds, but it was still probably a great deal. Max had honestly never seen a rig quite like it before.

The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.

There were two holsters, or quivers, of three knives each. All the knives were fairly big and heavy. Heavy meant more damaging. For Momo’s throwing style with no spin, combined with her spirits’ help, bigger, heavier knives like these were ideal. On top of that, whether she strapped the holsters to her arms or thighs, she would have access to knives with both hands. The included enchantments were as simple as they were useful; the blades were self-repairing and enchanted for strength. More importantly, with a mild siphon of available mana, the bonded user could activate the sheathes to summon the blades back.

Max examined them for a long time. Luckily, there were telltale signs that the throwing knives had been in the weapon shop for a long time, hopefully giving Max better bargaining power. His friends noticed when he went to the counter, and curious, wandered over.

As Lancy, Momo, and Belle got close enough to hear what was going on, Max was already haggling with the clerk, a middle-aged man with a permanent frown. When Momo saw what he was trying to buy, her eyes widened. She jerked her head over to look Max in the eyes and he just winked at her before going back to haggling.

He ended up talking the clerk down to half the listed price. Five thousand was still a hefty amount, especially compared to the other weapons he already bought. But unlike the other weapons, these knives would likely serve Momo well for the rest of her life. She would never have to upgrade.

"Here you go, Momo, these are for you," he said.

"I don't know what to say. Thank you."

"And he says he's not dating her," said Lance in a loud whisper. Belle laughed. Max rolled his eyes.

After that, Momo kept inspecting her new weapons in wonder, barely paying attention to her surroundings. The group checked out a few other stores, but eventually, Max gave Lance a couple of mana units and asked everyone if they would mind waiting for him in a coffee shop. Nobody had any problem with that. Max breathed a sigh of relief as he went back to check out the weapon shops alone.

He enjoyed spending time with friends, but he would have a lot more fun after his errands were done, and he could move much faster by himself than he could with the group.

Over his time shopping so far, he'd a few potential swords for his own use in several shops, and he wanted to check them all out again, one by one, to try to make a decision.

It seemed that several stores had incredible, expensive weapons as attractions to lure would-be customers to buy more affordable goods. Max went to check on the extremely expensive sword he’d noticed on a prior central area outing, the one worth a bit over a million mana units. An ornate case displaying and protecting the weapon was in the center of a store called Vowron Blades.

The incredible sword was tempting, but despite its massive number of enchantments and huge price tag, Max had decided it wouldn't actually serve him very well. For one, the enchantments were fairly redundant to what he would already be empowering a sword with as a Blade Sorcerer, and it also wasn't the size, shape, or even aesthetic style that he was looking for.

It was ridiculously powerful, though.

Maybe, though… Max rubbed his chin.

The clerk had ignored him at first when he asked to take a look at the sword. He’d just pointed to a sign on the thick display case that read, "Serious Buyers Only." With an arched eyebrow, Max withdrew the token he'd gotten from Headmaster Meng Hao Han, the one good for one weapon. After that, the clerk's manner had changed dramatically. The pimply-faced youth's boredom had transformed into borderline reverence. It took him several minutes to find the keys he was looking for behind the counter. Then as he’d unlocked the case for the glittering weapon, his hands had been shaking.

When Max held the sword, he had to admit it was truly a fine weapon. He opened his third eye all the way, beholding the sword. It matched the specs on its display case.

Shadow Sun Rising, sword of the Battleborne

A legendary blade from a forgotten age, forged in unknown fires that have long since burned out. Only the maker’s mark, “Willmarth” offers a lead to its mysterious origins.

Self repairing

Self sharpening

Enhanced toughness

Semi-sentient

Self regulating mana core

Appears when called by owner

Powers while sheathed and within a certain distance from the imprinted wielder:

Enhanced toughness

Natural armor

Elemental resistance

Regeneration

Poison resistance

Enhanced speed and strength

Magical manipulation resistance

Powers conferred while wielded include all those while sheathed plus:

Temporary barriers

Burn undead

Poison strikes at will

Mana force edges

Further enhanced speed and strength

Activated ability: Piercing Eyes

Distance attack: Flame slash

Limited, short distance teleportation

Wow. He was struck all over again by how–at least on paper–it was better than Moon Etcher, his sword when he'd been Chassa de Milo on Albion. However, he would take Moon Etcher over a million copies of this one, no matter how well made. He thanked the clerk and left the store, wondering about the young man's excited reaction until he realized there could have been a potential commission involved. That definitely would have explained some of it. Sucks for him, thought Max. Maybe from now on he'll pay better attention.

He went from store to store, looking at each weapon. Finally, he caught sight of one he hadn't even noticed before. Hanging on one of the racks was an extremely unassuming blade, a sword similar to a Filipino ginunting back on Earth. Almost like a reverse katana, it curved forward with the sharp edge being on the inside of the curve. A few stores back, Max had been carefully opening his third eye to sweep the swords on sale in each store and had realized that some of the more powerful ones gave off an interesting aura. He had been attracted to this one because of the aura that it was exuding. When examined more closely, although it was priced expensive, almost eight thousand mana units, Max grew more interested. Like the throwing knives he just bought for Momo, this one showed signs of being in the store for a very long time.

Max studied it even closer, putting more energy into his third eye, then observed the window that popped up. Sure enough, what his third eye was telling him did not entirely match the one on the wall for this word.

The sign read, "Short sword. Strength enchantment. Stability enchantment of steel. Sharpness enchantment. Self-repairing. Comes with sheath." However, Max's third eye showed him,

Experimental Weapon: Blackmist Incident of Actus. A rare example of a weapon other than an axe forged by the mysterious master smith only known as First Defier.

Powers and abilities: Shock resistant, magnetically resistant, enhanced toughness, self-repairing, self-sharpening. Can be magnetically attuned to attract steel, monster cores, or magically imbued items. Enhanced strength. At the bonded wielder’s order, will create an eldritch buckler to be used in the other hand with limited ability to change shape.

Sheath is designed, on command, to magically shrink the sword to the size of a large knife until drawn.

Max blinked. He could definitely understand why, even if all the enchantments were known, this sword wouldn't be worth as others in the Quartet. After all, other than being an excellent weapon, this sword wouldn't necessarily make any warrior stronger on its own. But for Max, it was almost perfect. He went to the front and, after paying nearly four thousand mana units after haggling, he had his new sword in hand. He was practically trembling in excitement.

He made his way to the coffee shop his friends were at to check in. Momo seemed happy to see him back, and she said as much, and also seemed to pick up on the fact that he was extremely excited about this purchase. Max was in a hurry. He told everyone he would be right back, and thought he saw a shadow cross Momo’s face as he turned to leave. What the hell was going on? he wondered. Was Lance actually right? Was Max's weird, desperate attempt to get more powerful in the Quartet, actually turning into some kind of crazy reality TV show without his knowledge up until now?

As he speed-walked to the store with the Shadow Sun Rising sword, he decided that there were hints everywhere that the Quartet was an extremely horny place, not least of which so many children got left behind to work in the central area. There was also all the commotion when new rules had prevented students from merely visiting other schools at night. Maybe, at the end of the day, to the majority of students, Max was the weird one. Or at least people like Max and Gantry Pliss, people who were trying to be the best warriors they could possibly be without too many distractions.

On that note, what he was about to do amused him greatly. He walked into the store that the Shadow Sun Rising had been in, marched up to the clerk, and told him he was going to buy the sword he had handled earlier. The clerk looked about ready to pass out, and Max was highly amused by his reaction. He also looked forward to Lance's reaction when Max gave it to his friend to use. After securing the incredibly precious weapon wrapped up in canvas, Max left to try locating the artifact he was going to be using his remaining voucher for.