“First, let’s start with Aren,” said Silver once we walked up the stairs to the second floor.
“Why him first?” I said in a very dignified manner.
“Because I said so, now come on.” Silver said in a clipped tone. I silently followed.
As we reached the mid-point of the floor, the racks went from being full of guns to being full of everything except a gun. Every single available surface was filled with swords, scimitars, shields, daggers, knuckle dusters, bats, and practically every other kind of weapon imaginable.
“Who uses crossbows nowadays?” I mumbled, looking at some sleek, black compound crossbows hanging from a wall.
“Hm? What was that?” Silver asked, turning to me.
“Nothing. Nevermind.” I waved the question away. “So, Aren, what kind of weapon are you thinking of getting?”
He looked around enthusiastically. “Can I go see? I promise I won’t touch anything.” He looked up at Silver with hope.
“Sure, go ahead.” She said. "Bring back what you want to try to the central area. Just follow the yellow arrows on the floor. I’ve got some dummies you can test your weapons on."
He took off in a sprint.
I headed straight for a nearby vending fabricator. Eagerly dialing in the selection for a glass of double whiskey on the rocks, my disappointment was immeasurable, and my day was ruined.
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[ORDER DENIED]
NO ALCOHOLIC DRINKS ALLOWED IN THE ORPHANAGE
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I looked at the treacherous machine, venom in my eyes. Then, I turned my ire to the one truly deserving of this. Its mistress. I pushed the notification at Silver, narrowing my eyes at her.
“Yeah, duh. You think I’d let people drink booze around my babies and my darlings?” She said, in a tone that clearly indicated she thought of me as a moron for even trying.
“Wait… Out of the kids in the Orphanage and the armor and weapons you make, which are your darlings, and which are your babies?” I asked, trying to distract myself from the disappointment of not being able to have my sweet, refreshing whiskey.
“Yes.” She said flatly.
“Alright! I have a few weapons I want to try!” Said Aren, coming back looking mighty pleased with himself.
“Oh?” Silver asked. “What do you have in mind?”
“Well, instead of telling you, how about he shows you, and you can tell him if he can practice with them?” I said, and Aren’s eyes practically glittered with excitement. “Maybe you can suggest a weapon for him too.”
Silver shrugged. “Works for me. Razel, instead of whatever you are trying to drink, why don’t you get yourself a nice orange soda instead?” She smirked at me.
“Why an orange soda?” I asked, grimacing in distaste.
“The vending fab is out of some ingredients required to make the other soda flavors. Seems to be a shortage for some reason.”
I groaned as if physically struck. “You know I hate orange soda.”
“Wait, you hate orange soda?” Aren cried out. “Then why the fuck were you drinking one while I was sweating my ass off?”
“Cause it was funny. You should have seen your face.” I said, giving him a cheeky smile.
Aren blinked a couple of times as if his brain was taking a while to process that information. I could practically hear a “ding” in his head when he finally absorbed the meaning of my words. “I hate you,” he said simply.
“So you’ve said before.”
“Alright, boys, enough bickering. Come on, Aren, let's get you some weapons.” Silver cut in, beckoning at Aren, who stuck his tongue out at me before running after Silver. I am a mature, 27-year-old man, so, as was right, I stuck mine right back at his retreating back. That showed him.
With them out of the way, I turned to the vending fab and found the input slot on the side of it. I took a wire out of my watch and connected it to the machine, and a set of displays appeared in my view.
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[Tithan Industries Vending Fabricator M.K. 4.2.3.5 Rev 2]
Username:
Password:
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Fuck. Of course, Silver had the control panel encrypted. I tried a bunch of usernames and passwords I thought Silver might use, but none of them worked. My attempts grew increasingly frantic. There had to be some way to lift this restriction. All I needed was a proper drink.
A loud buzz in my ear made me start.
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[ACCESS DENIED]
You have made too many unsuccessful attempts to log in.
Please try again in: 59 Minutes and 58 seconds.
Or Contact a Tithan Industries representative for a password reset at the discounted price of only 700 credits!
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Rage boiled the blood in my veins. This fucking machine was trying to stop me? We’ll see about that. I scrolled through the menu of my wristwatch and found the auto-hacking software. It used a brute-force technique, so it was useless on missions or any security devices, but for something as stupid as this machine, it should be fine. If only Yorathan were here, he’d help me get a drink.
The thought made me flinch. I took several steps back, the cord getting ripped out of the vending fab in my haste to get away from the infernal thing. What was I thinking? What was I doing? To have such a crude, disgusting thought… I felt sick.
I stared at my own, shaking hands in horror. I heard Silver and Aren’s voices growing closer. I quickly went to a nearby shelf and stuck my hands in my pockets, pretending I was keenly interested in the knives on display.
“Hey Razel, what’s got you so interested in the ceramic knives?” I heard Silver’s cheerful voice from the side.
“Oh, nothing, just browsing,” I said, trying to sound as relaxed as possible. I turned to see both of them carrying armloads of weapons.
“Oh, alright! Well then, let's get started.” Her last words trailed off as she glanced down at my shoes, the nearby vending fab, and then back, staring straight into my eyes. Her expression hardened, softened, and then hardened again.
“What?” I said, unable to look away.
“Nothing. Let’s go.” I saw her clench her jaw as she did a 180 and started walking away from me and toward the training dummies.
What was that all about? I looked down.
Ah. Shit.
The wire from my watch was still dangling out of my pocket, the plug bumping against my shoes. I clicked the button on the watch that made the wire retract and, trying my best to hide my shame, followed after her.
Aren was bouncing on the balls of his feet, looking at the variety of weapons in front of him like a kid who was being held back from opening a mountain of birthday gifts.
If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.
Silver sorted the weapons by type on a table and glanced at me. "Let's help him choose, shall we?"
I nodded, eager to leave the awkward moment behind us. "Right, yeah. Aren, can you explain to us why you chose these weapons?"
Aren pointed at the first weapon, a longsword as tall as him, with a blade so dark that it seemed to suck up the light around it. Its guard and hilt were a dull black plastic composite with purple leather wrapping. "Swords are cool," he stated as if this was an immutable law of the universe. As it so happened, I agreed.
"Very true." I nodded and examined the weapon.
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[Ultrablack Longsword of Night's Embrace]
Rank: Rare
A sword forged by Sister Silver. Perfectly balanced and with a self-sharpening blade, this sword is a trusty companion for anyone looking to hack whatever stands in their way in little pieces. The [Night's Embrace] subroutine covers the sword and the wielder in darkness, helping them blend into their environment and strike unseen.
"They won't know what hit them."
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"Interesting choice,” I said, nodding in approval. "[Night's Embrace] will help hide you and keep you safe. That being said, I saw you fighting. You are very good in hand-to-hand combat." He preened at the praise. I raise my finger to stop him from letting his thoughts of epic swordfights run wild. "But. Do you have any sword training?"
"Well… No. But how hard can it be? Stick 'em with the pointy end and whack them with the sharp sides, right?" He asked, sounding like he was mostly trying to convince himself.
"Those are the entry-level requirements of swordplay, yes. Tell you what. Take a swing at me."
Aren looked at me in disbelief. "You really are crazy."
Silver chuckled dryly. "You're not wrong, but in this instance, Razel is not as crazy as you might imagine. The area we are standing in has half a dozen legendary-rank subroutines that heal all damage instantly, and any attack that would cause serious or fatal damage will stop right before it breaks the skin."
Aren's eyes bulged in incredulity. Most people on the outer ring went their entire lives without seeing a single legendary-rank subroutine, let alone standing in the field that six layered ones created.
"So what are you waiting for? Take a swing at me!" I goaded him. He looked down at the sword, set his jaw, and picked it up, taking a swing at me with unsurprising eagerness. I wasn't sure if he was more excited to swing a sword or to take a swing at me.
His swing was slow, clumsy, and easily dodged. Instead of dodging, however, I simply slapped the side of his blade away with my forearm, which caused him to go off-balance and stumble, dropping the sword. Before he could react, I stepped on the blade and kept my foot there.
Silver shook her head. "The sword is too big and too heavy for you. It obviously doesn't complement your fighting style. You are too slow with it, and your edge alignment was completely wrong. Even if your hit had connected, you would have barely broken skin." Each word made him look more and more disappointed.
"Yeah, I guess. Still, ouch." he sulked at her.
"Don't be disappointed. There's still lots of weapons to try out." She said cheerfully to him. Then, she turned to me and all but growled. "Razel, get your damn foot off of my sword."
"Right, sorry," I said sheepishly. I picked up the sword, dusted the blade off, brought it to the table, and looked over the selection with a critical eye.
"Razel, you've seen him fight. What weapons are a no-go?"
I hummed and pointed at a rapier so vividly green that it was painful to the eyes, a wooden-looking short sword that hummed, a ceramic alloy dagger with a red gem inlaid in the pommel, every throwing weapon on the table, and a semi-translucent bat that looked filled with a sickly yellow liquid, all of which Silver took away to another table. Aren feebly tried to convince us to keep each weapon, but his arguments fell on deaf ears.
We were left with a segmented bo-staff, a pair of tonfa, a pair of knuckle dusters, and a whip.
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[Bo-staff of the Serpent]
Rank: Uncommon
A transforming bo-staff created by Sister Silver. Its [Mode-Shift] subroutine allows the bo-staff's segments to separate, turning the normally rigid weapon into a flexible implement of violence. With enough training, it is said that the wielder can attack from any angle in any position.
"Beware the serpent's bite."
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[Stormspinner Tonfa]
Rank: Rare
A pair of tonfa created by Sister Silver. Their [Lightning Aegis] subroute creates a lightning field around the tonfa and causes them to rotate in the wielder's grasp so fast that they can stop any energy projectile up to medium density from striking the user. Lightning diodes on each tonfa's head, base, and grip head allow for stored-up energy, either from the shield or successful strikes, to be released as deadly surges of electricity.
"The power of the storm, in the grip of your hands."
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[Knuckle Dusters of the Inferno]
Rank: Rare
A pair of knuckle dusters created by Sister Silver. Their [Napalm Strikes] subroutine allows the knuckle dusters to leave a flammable sticky liquid on the impact site. When the knuckle dusters strike each other, the liquid combusts.
"Smells like chicken."
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[Sanquine Rose Whip]
Rank: Rare
A whip created by Sister Silver. Its [Rose Thorns] subroutine allows the whip to sprout thorns at the user's command. When wrapped around a target, these thorns emerge with enough force to pierce steel armor. The weapon absorbs any fresh blood it touches, up to a cap, and can use it to create larger, deadlier spikes.
"Stop stabbing yourself."
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I had to admit, I was impressed. Silver's weapons were both beautiful and terrifying. If her neutral status didn't protect her, I'm sure many gangs and some clans would want to kill her just so that these weapons wouldn't fall into the hands of their enemies.
"So, why did you pick these ones, Aren?" I asked.
"Well, the Bo-staff I actually have training with. The knuckle dusters, too. The whip I'm less familiar with, but I know enough to not hurt myself and to hurt others." He said confidently.
"And the Tonfa?" I asked, bemused.
"Well…" He hesitated.
I simply raised my eyebrow. Of all the weapons Aren picked, the reasons for this one interested me the most.
"Promise you won't laugh." He said seriously.
"I promise."
"I'm a huge fan of the Rust Reaver, so I've been practicing with them in my spare time since I was seven," he said in a rush, blushing so hard that he matched his jacket.
Keeping a straight face was one of the most difficult things I had ever done. I gave a meaningful glance to Silver and nodded at him. "I see. Nothing wrong with having a role model. Well, why don't you show me what you can do with the Tonfa?"
Aren picked them up eagerly and rushed over to me, entering a solid combat stance. I raised my hands, preparing to defend myself.
The clever little shite rushed in and used the height difference to his advantage, using the base of his right tonfa to swing at my knee and throwing a jab using the head of the left tonfa at my stomach. I lifted my leg and kicked at his right hand, stopping the attack before it could land, my right hand grabbing at his left wrist and barely stopping the jab at my stomach.
“Not bad,” I said to him, nodding.
He didn’t bother to reply, instead using the momentum of my kick to spin his right tonfa and try to deliver a vertical swing at my wrist. His movements were far too unrefined and large for the hit to pose any threat to me, but I admired the kid’s quick thinking. Before he could land his blow, I jerked his left hand forward, the hit aimed at my wrist, landing on the kid’s own forearm. He hissed in pain, jumping up and kicking me in the chest. The move was so unexpected that I lost my grip, and Aren managed to get some distance between us.
“Your moves were clever but far too focused on dealing damage. It left you open to be grabbed. The tonfa is a weapon with defensive, offensive, and opponent-controlling capabilities. You must use them all simultaneously to be effective, especially when fighting enemies bigger than you.” I turned to Silver. “Can you toss me a pair of practice tonfa?”
She nodded, opening a nearby cabinet drawer and tossing two wooden tonfas at me. I grabbed them out of the air and gave them a couple of spins. “Prepare to defend yourself,” I told Aren. He paled a little but nodded eagerly.
I ran at him, and when I was a couple of steps away, I spun both of my tonfa in opposite directions and brought my hands together so that the base of the weapons hit each other. The loud crack of sound startled Aren, who jerked back, giving me enough time to spin my right tonfa in the air, grab it by the base, and swing at him. He tried to activate his weapon’s subroutine, the tonfa starting to spin around the grips and forming a barrier of lightning in an instant, but it was too late. In a fluid motion, I hooked the back of his left knee with my right tonfa, pulling backward and up, throwing him on his back. I reversed the grip on that tonfa and kept pulling up so that everything from his shoulders down was dangling in the air, entirely at my mercy.
“Wh-” Aren started to say, but before he could make another sound, my left tonfa swung out, the base of it pressing up against his throat. He stared into my eyes for a heartbeat, shock plain on his face.
“How the fuck did you do that?” he croaked.
I just grinned.