The next screen mentioned a weapons vault and listed all manners of weapons that he could purchase at Rank 0. He noted that they were all melee weapons, no firearms whatsoever.

One blade did make his eyes widen, which was an Iron Double-edged Takouba. His people used a weapon for many centuries as they conquered southern Europe and even traversed to South America.

[https://i.imgur.com/qzW49xu.jpg]

[https://i.imgur.com/P5l9DR7.jpg]

He clicked on the Takouba tab. Motes of light appeared next to him. His heart fluttered a bit as a sheathed weapon in a red sword belt floated in the air for a few seconds before falling on the sand with a slight whoomp sound. Zef bent down and reached for it. He gasped when he realized he could touch it. He swiped the screens away and stood up as he held the weapon with both hands. The sword belt and sheath were made out of leather; he scrubbed the sand and felt its surface; it was quite smooth yet robust.

Zef pulled out the blade and marveled at the sight; the Takouba had a dangerous allure to it with the campfire set as a background. "This is our sword, an exact copy," he thought, amazed.

The hilt was covered in leather, but he could feel the metal underneath as his hand hovered towards the grip and crossguard. It was probably also iron but coated in brass or copper. Like all Takouba's, this sword was a double-edged broad sword meant to slash swiftly from diverse directions. It was best suited to be used on the one hand to cut depending on the wielder's whim. The other hand could hold a spear or shield.

Yet unlike the standard three feet, his sword was five feet in length, clearly tailored for him, especially with his considerable height and build.

Zef practiced a couple of strokes and could recall the eight forms of slashing, so he practiced them and was surprised at how clean and nimble his actions were. The sword moved like a willow, unhindered and smooth. He struck at an unimaginary foe using feints and slashes as the sword cycled from around his head and below his waist. To a naive person, it looked more like a dance, but there was a menace to these slashes, the sound of air being punished was proof enough.

Zef truly felt comfortable with the sword, his grandfather's training emerged from his mind. He perceived he could train for hours under a strict mentor if given a chance to perfect the skill. He just wished that this endless darkness would cease and for the sun to rise so he could have some space to move and use his footwork and practice some more. Yet he was sensible enough not to move away from the campfire, wary of the hidden dangers in this dark, surreal world.

Zef took a step back towards the weapons screen and clicked at the Takouba tab; simultaneously, the blade and red sheath disappeared into motes of white light, which traveled back to its tab.

He thought for a minute, then clicked on the Gladius tab, the same phenomenon occurred again as Motes of white light followed by a smaller blade dropped to the ground, but this time he grabbed it mid-air. He picked up the gladius and unsheathed it to test his form, swiping, cutting, and trusting. It had a shorter reach but felt more maneuverable and easier to handle. Additionally, the blade being lighter than its previous sister, was faster to cut and thrust.

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Thus Zef, for the next hour or so, started experimenting with all matter of weapons. He tried the arms by order. He began with the long-ranged weapons and found he liked the Lakota and Nubian longbow the most as he shot many of their arrows which came along with their quivers.

Each quiver could hold up to 30 arrows, the feathers of each shaft had a scarlet color. He practiced and shot into the air several times; sadly, he didn't have anything to aim at, so he didn't know if he was a good shot or not. In the desert, they hunted with rifles and thus there was no need for bows and arrows. Bullets were easy to get and trees were a luxury to have.

He was confident though; with enough practice alongside his unique vision, stamina, and strength, he could probably compete with the best archers humanity has ever seen.

He put that thought to rest and looked again at the one-handed blades, course the Takouba was his favorite, and he wasn't ashamed for being bias even though the Katana and Gladius fit him well. Next were the 2-handed weapons, and surprisingly, the Guandao wasn't hard to use him as he swiped the air with its heavy blade and recognized he could still use it, even on the one hand.

It just took a bit more effort to balance his chops and swings by holding it at its center of weight. Also, the other end of the wooden shaft had an iron ball incased on it, which was a tiny sharp spike.

Yup, a weapon meant for reducing numerous enemies even when surrounded. More like a long blade than a spear.

Next were the throwing and short-ranged weapons. The throwing weapons meant that he would have to be more precise and dexterous when aiming. They were unlike the short-range weapons, which were easier to point and shoot but had a loading mechanism which he didn't enjoy as much. In addition, they felt clunkier to reload than an old soviets gun.

The throwing weapons felt more ideal to him as he imagined throwing knives at fast speeds and decimating creeps, Especially the Fei Bi Dao's, which suited him well, they were tiny knives inserted in a belt filled with pockets and had a long strap that can be wrapped on different parts of his body.

Last but not least were the shields; he admired the Zulu and Viking Shield, but he couldn't decide if he wanted one at the moment.

He realized most of these weapons were easily recognizable, a boon from all those historical documentaries that he enjoyed watching as a child, a past hobby he inherited from his...

Zef quickly stopped himself and disengaged from that thought. He needed to stop contemplating about the past!

After calming himself, Zef attended the next task and looked at the Armor Vault, a Rank 0. He chose the light armor, and, like before, motes of light floated towards the ground, unlike its previous actions with the weapons and set there. Next, a Brown Duelist Gambeson appeared, and its appearance was of a heavy jacket that extended to his knees. He bent down and touched the texture and realized it was composed of padded wool. He thought for a minute, then went back to the weapons vault and chose the Takouba, which he set to the ground, then went back to wearing the Gambeson.

The Gambeson from the inside pricked his skin, and he wished he had a shirt on, but it did offer some protection against the natural elements and probably against slashing and thrusting weapons. He didn't feel much strain weight-wise when he moved, even if it did look somewhat heavy.

Zef began practicing his sword stances to feel about the Gambeson he wore - checking how it would affect his motor skills alongside some maneuvering and dodging movements. In the end, he ended the practice with a roll on the sandy beach. He looked quite comical with sand on his attire and his face. If it weren't for his sober expression, someone would have had a good laugh at his expense.

He cleaned the sand off his face and started looking at each armor selection, then clicked at each tab in asynchronous order. With each click, he would probe the armor, its wearing mechanism as some had many belts, pieced for different parts of the body, especially the heavy armor. Also, he noted the sturdiness of each armor piece, whether fabric, leather, or metal. Zef then pondered some more, lifted some of the denser variety, and felt their weight. An hour finally passed by as Zef sat down and considered his armor preferences against the weapons he would equip.

He only had 100 coins and really wanted to buy the Takouba, being that he knew the forms and how to use it but decided to put the weapons and armor selection for later as there were more screens to look into.

Instead, he looked at the remaining hovering screens and realized at that moment his lack of coins.