“Welcome back, and congratulations, Rico,” Minerva said, and she actually sounded like she meant it.

“Thanks, Um, what happens now?” I asked. There was a lot that was supposed to go on at this rank and tier, but I wasn’t sure what to do.

“We have some time before your next summoning. You will not be summoned again until you take care of some business that we must attend to. First off, let’s deal with what you’re already used to, go ahead and check Rico’s Loot,” Minerva suggested. I was never going to say no to looking at loot, so I opened the chest and sorted for new inventory.

Rico’s Loot.

New Inventory.

1. Copper coins, 55.

2. Silver coins, 17.

“Not bad, but nothing too exciting,” I admitted. More silver was welcome, but this wasn’t the big upgrade I was looking for.

“I understand, it’s a bit anticlimactic. Why don’t we go over the newest addition to Rico’s Place,” Minerva said as she pointed to the wall across from my loot chest. I hadn’t noticed it before, but now there was an actual door to my place. It was a simple wooden door, with a sliding latch to keep it closed. Walking over, I opened the door into a room set up like an oversized closet.

A wooden dummy for displaying clothes was inside as well as a set of drawers and a locker. It was like I was getting ready for medieval gym class or something. A system prompt announced what I was looking at.

Armory has been unlocked. Please arrange your desired gear loadout.

“You don’t have much to populate the armory with yet, but why don’t you start by touching the equipment stand,” Minerva suggested. When I touched it, another prompt appeared.

Equipment stand: Tier 0. Please select the desired equipment stored in your personal reward chest that you wish to add to this loadout.

Eligible armor: None.

Eligible weapons:

1. Simple dagger (5).

Other gear: None.

Artifacts: None.

Magic items: None.

Spells:

1. Psionic Jolt (10).

Consumables: None.

Titles: None.

I selected the only item that I had, which was my dagger. As soon as I did, the equipment stand changed. Instead of a wooden stick figure, a lifelike image of me floated just above the ground. I was wearing my current clothing, but in the image’s hand was my dagger.

“Nice, does this mean I don’t have to rush to Rico’s Loot to make sure that I get my dagger before the next summoning?” I asked.

“Exactly. Now you can equip any eligible gear and have it appear on you automatically when summoned. At this tier there is only one loadout option available, and as you gain in rank and acquire more items, additional options will unlock,” Minerva explained.

“So, what exactly happens at the higher tiers?” I asked.

“At this tier, there is a limit to the type of gear you can equip. It was hidden before when your items were stored in Rico’s Loot, but now you can see a gear rating for each item you equip. At tier zero, you have a maximum gear rating of 100. Your maximum gear rating will increase by five for each rank, so at tier zero, rank five, where you are now, your maximum gear rating is 125,” Minerva explained.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

My assistant was rather open with information today, which was a nice treat. Minerva indicated the equipment stand and when I looked, the new information populated.

Tier 0 loadout.

Current/maximum gear rating: 5/125.

Currently equipped:

1. Dagger (5).

My simple dagger only had a gear rating of five, which seemed about right. The 125 maximum gear rating seemed like a lot, but I could see how it would max out quickly if I was fully equipped. If I found or bought something with a really high gear rating, I may have some hard decisions to make on what to equip, but that was a problem for the future. With only a dagger to my name, I didn’t have to worry about it now.

“My spell is also listed on the equipment stand; it takes up gear rating also?” I asked.

“Yes, your spells reflect your overall power, and you may have to choose between certain spells or having better weapons equipped. Finding the right balance can be difficult at higher tiers, but at tier zero, it shouldn’t be too much of a burden. Before you forget, make sure you equip your Psionic Jolt to your loadout,” Minerva explained.

I went back into the equipment stand and selected the spell, watching how the number changed.

Tier 0 loadout.

Current/maximum gear rating: 15/125.

Currently equipped:

1. Dagger (5).

2. Psionic Jolt (10).

“How do I get more gear? You said I could purchase items now,” I asked.

“Yes, you will have access to purchase things momentarily, but for the next item on the agenda, you should read the bound scroll that you discovered earlier. I think it will prove helpful and guide your future purchases,” Minerva suggested.

Heading back to Rico’s Loot, I grabbed the scroll from my other possessions. This time, the seal on the scroll parted easily now that I’d met its requirements. As I read the scroll, a new prompt and a new choice for me to make appeared.

You have accessed a basic combat skill scroll. This scroll will impart to you the basic knowledge of how to wield one type of weapon. Three types of weapons are included with this scroll, but other scrolls you might purchase or receive as rewards may offer a different selection. Please choose one of the following.

1. Crossbows.

2. Swords

3. Maces.

“Minerva, it looks like I finally get to learn how to use a weapon. Do you have any suggestions?” I asked. While I could already see myself wielding a sword like a knight, the other options might offer something better. I just really didn’t know much about medieval weapons.

“All three weapons have their pros and cons. Having a ranged weapon and the skill to use it is almost required at higher tiers, but for a while yet, you would benefit more from a melee weapon.

“Sword skills are the most common, and there are many paths to branch out and become an expert in, but maces can be even more devastating, especially when up against an armored foe,” Minerva advised.

“Which weapon is easier to use?” I asked.

“Of the three, maces. A sword takes more skill and precision, but a mace requires only that you hit your target. If you hit, there will more than likely be damage done to your foe,” Minerva said.

It was an interesting quandary. On the one hand, swords were just cool, but on the other hand, a mace might be more practical. It would come down to how much training I might have in the future and if there were other ability and skill scrolls that might be available for each weapon. Ranged weapons weren’t my forte, but I would like to learn them eventually.

“How common are skill scrolls or some other kind of training I can get to improve my skills with either weapon,” I asked.

“Most basic martial skills should be trained by you in your home world, as those skills will transfer over to everything you do when summoned. From what you told me, melee weapon trainers are rare upon this Earth where you reside. With that in mind, you should know that advanced techniques and skills can be purchased, but they are often prohibitively expensive,” Minerva said.

I was going to get some basic fighting knowledge from my martial arts class, but I doubted I would learn too much about sword fighting there. If training was extremely expensive, I might be better off going with the simpler weapon and working as hard as I could with it.

“I’ll take maces, who doesn’t want to smash stuff,” I decided.

“A wise choice in your situation,” Minerva said. A bunch of knowledge pushed its way into my mind. Basic stances, attack forms, and the knowledge of the various types of maces was imparted to me. I was not an expert by any stretch of the imagination, but I felt I could fight using a mace without embarrassing myself.

“There is one more thing for me to show you, something I think you’ll find very interesting,” Minerva said as she pointed toward the far end of the room. A new door was there, this one was a huge, double door affair with iron bands reinforcing it. It was barred from the inside, which made me a bit nervous, what was it keeping out?

“What’s in there?” I asked with some concern.

“Your future prosperity or failure. What you become in there is entirely up to you,” Minerva said cryptically. Well, there was only one way to find out what was behind the door.