"Hmmm."
I found myself in the midst of a weapon shop, surrounded by an array of weaponry on display.
The shop was immaculately organized, with numerous customers - mostly elves - perusing the various sections.
Weapons were divided into specific sections and put on stands for display, much like a bookstore or supermarket.
Conveniently, every single item here had price tags on them but no additional descriptions whatsoever.
Right now, I was standing in the [Mid-Range Polearms] section, specifically examining spears.
As I was in the midst of considering one, a short elven girl dressed in the shop's staff uniform approached me and inquired, "Have you chosen something, sir?"
"Ahh?"
Momentarily surprised, I turned towards her and replied, "Not yet. I'll head to the counter if I decide to make a purchase."
"Sure, sir. Do you want to take a look at our spear catalog?" she insisted.
"It includes a wider range of items than the ones on display, although the pricing may be slightly higher."
"No thanks," I declined. "I'll purchase one of these on display."
"Sure, sir. Have a pleasant day."
With that, she walked away.
I refused to peruse the catalog because the weapons listed inside it would be more expensive than the ones on display.
Despite having a substantial amount of money, I had no intention of spending a uselessly big chunk of it on a single weapon.
There were two reasons for this:
First, I was confident that any ordinary spear would break if I used it against one of the seven Abyssal Vampire Kings, albeit a former one.
So unless it was a relic, it's all the same, no matter how expensive the materials used to forge it were, which brings me to my second point.
Second, I could acquire a cheap spear from this stand and use my Edit Pen to transform it into a relic.
As I resumed my selection of spears on display, one, in particular, caught my attention.
"Oh, this one is quite impressive," I exclaimed, picking it up for closer inspection.
It was a blood-red spear with a silver blade at its end, giving it a distinct appearance from the usual pointed-tip spears.
I prefer bladed spears over pointed-tips because not only are they more lethal at piercing, but I can also slash with them.
So, in short, I can use them as a halberd or axe while also maintaining the distance and speed that a normal spear provides.
Of course, sometimes, when you pierce them into someone, retracting them could be difficult. In that scenario, pointed-tips are better.
But overall, bladed spears are more versatile and– Wait… Why do I sound like a spear nerd?!
…Ahem.
Shaking my head to eliminate some unnecessary thoughts, I decided to go with this spear.
It was the best I could find here in both quality and price – a little over ninety-one thousand Credits.
Afterward, I headed toward the [Long-Range Archery] section to pick up a bow and some arrows.
†
After buying a brand new archery set and some other things, I started moving toward the slums while following the azure threads.
Finally, after walking around for half an hour or so, I reached the outskirts of the slums.
This area was separated from the main city. I couldn't see any buildings or even roads nearby.
As I strode on the muddy path, I entered the slums in no time. Again, eyes were drawn to me.
Today, however, I decided to wear a half sleeves black hoodie t-shirt and matching slacks to not draw too much attention to me.
It didn't work.
People were still looking at me as if I was some kind of a rare specimen.
To blend more easily in this crowd, maybe I would've worn rags, but I didn't want to fight without proper clothing.
It's fine though. I had my face covered with the hood. No one would be able to recognize me from yesterday.
"Hey, aren't you the guy from yesterday?"
Or so I thought.
"....."
As I was following the azure threads, a voice rang in my ears from behind. I spun around to see a skinny boy, around nine to ten years old, looking back at me.
"No, I'm not."
I curtly lied to him and started walking but he circled around me and blocked my path.
"Yes, you are!"
"....How did you know?"
"That shiny bracelet on your hand."
As the kid pointed at my right hand, I frowned and looked at a metallic black smart bracelet on my wrist.
Ahh, yes. It's easy to recognize people from this since not many have one of these smart bracelets in this world.
But should people in the slums, kids no less, even know about something like this?
"That's a smart bracelet with a dimensional storage feature in it, right?" the kid took a step forward and leaned in for my hand.
"How do you know that?" I pulled my hand away and asked with a frown. "It could just be a normal smart bracelet."
"Ha!" the boy combed back his dirty black hair and flashed a smug grin. "There's not a tech in this world these eyes of mine can't recognize."
I was about to comment on that but the boy started speaking.
"Now, who are you? You're too young to be a soldier, so you must be a cadet." he continued.
"I've only read scraps of media magazines lately, so I'm not updated on tech news, but I think only two military academies provide these types of bracelets to their cadets, no?
"So you're either from Ethereal Military Academy or Global Military Academy. Since you're rich enough to get into those prestigious academies, you must be a noble.
"But what's a noble doing in the slums of the Central Continent, away from either of those two academies? Maybe you are here on a trip. But still, why visit the slums? Maybe you're here to look for someone… but who–"
"Okay! Stop!" freaked out by the kid's deductions which were all on point, I yelled at him to stop. "Who are you?"
"That's my question, who are you?" the kid narrowed his eyes.
Huh? He was smart. Recognizing me is one thing but deducing where I was from and why I was here…
"Huuu," letting out a deep breath, I squatted down to match his height before admitting. "You're right. I'm here to look for someone. Can you help me?"
"That depends," the boy replied with a cheeky grin. "Can you help me? Give me sixty credits and we'll talk. Okay fine, fifty. Fine! I'll settle on forty credits. Just give me something!"
I rolled my eyes. "What's your name?"
"Rowen," he answered quickly. "I have no last name."
"Your left eye is bruised, Rowen," I said while pointing at his black eye.
"Huh– I.. ah, yeah. I fell–"
Before he could come up with an excuse, I cut him off.
"You also seemed to have some other unattended injuries," I remarked, taking a closer look at his body.
As I scanned his body, it was clear that he had numerous cuts and bruises, some of which appeared to have been sustained days ago. However, I also noticed a few fresh injuries that seemed to be more recent.
"So you're being abused daily and have no last name," I said before continuing.
"You also seem to be out of breath and have bread crumbs on your lips. Did you happen to be running while eating bread, or were you perhaps stealing food?
"If you have to resort to that, then that must mean you don't have someone to take care of you. You're an orphan. It's clear that the people in the slums don't care about you, and you're left to fend for yourself. You're alone.
"Judging by how you talk, you seem to be a tech fanatic. You are also knowledgeable about military academies. You look around ten years old. I guess you have awakened your mana core and you are researching different military academies, considering you'll need to attend one in a few years.
"But you must know top military academies are notoriously expensive. Given your current circumstances, it will be difficult for you to save enough money to attend a mid-tier, let alone a prestigious one. You can't save that much money in your life. And if you don't manage to do so, you may be sent to a military camp instead."
As I was done talking, the boy's mouth was left hanging. His eyes widened, and his lips trembled as he barely let out:
"H-How?"
"Hmm?" I arched an eyebrow. "Surely you don't think you're the only smart person in the world, right? You're awakened, right? Can you see your status? What's your intelligence stat?"
For a second, the boy hesitated, but at the end, he gave me an earnest answer, "183. My intelligence stat is 183."
Damn, he was smart.
But in this environment, his potential will get snuffed out.
Here's how his life will go:
He won't be able to save enough money for a decent military academy, and he will be forced to attend military camps.
He will start as a foot soldier, but with his high intelligence and a bit of luck, he might survive his first few battles.
However, when the Vampire Monarch awakens, and his forces become stronger, he will be deployed to the edge of the Northern borders, like millions of other foot soldiers.
His mission will be to defend the border from the onslaught of vampires.
He will give it his all, valiantly fighting to survive, but ultimately, he will meet his demise.
And he will die without living up to his true potential.
No, it's a waste. I could use someone like him in the final scenarios of this world.
However, I needed to confirm one last thing before lending him a helping hand.
"What's your mana core rank potential?" I asked.
The boy looked at me with a troubled expression before he clenched his fists and leaned in to whisper, "Silver 3."
Aww, damn it! He'll just be a Low Ranker!
Note that the ranks from ‹Iron 1› to ‹Silver 3› are considered Low Ranks.
Then, from ‹Gold 1› to ‹Diamond 3› are considered Mid Ranks.
High Ranks only consist of ‹Divine›, ‹Immortal›, and ‹Mythical› stages.
And his potential stops him from ever breaking out of the Low Ranks.
…Hmmm.
However… in two years, a way to break potential caps will be discovered.
An alchemist will create a potion that will make it possible for anyone to reach Mid Ranks. He's still young. Maybe I can make some use of him after all.
Hmmm, fine, I will help him.
"Okay here's the deal, Rowen. I will sponsor your admission into the Global Academy. I will give you a chance to make something of your life. You're a smart kid. You know how big of a deal this is, right? A chance to enter the world's top military academy. In return, however, you must help me with something."
The kid looked at me bewildered, as if he could not understand what I was saying. Or maybe he was just too flabbergasted to speak.
After a while, a frown appeared on his face, "Y-You would do that? But you won't sell me anywhere, right?"
"Boy, I have more money in my account than what you're worth. Shut up and tell me one thing, do you know someone named Reina Eldernight in this slum? She should have red hair and matching eyes. If I'm not wrong, she would've moved here a year or so ago–"
"Oh, you're talking about that scary lady! Yeah, I've seen her. All the kids in the slum seem to like her and surround her all the time," Rowen replied with several head nods. "They asked me to join them and talk to her too. But I never went because… Uh- I never went because s-she seems to be dangerous. My instincts tell me to run whenever I see her. She moved here last year with an orange-haired girl. I don't remember her name. Ah, maybe it was Mary. She is strange too."
Mary? Hmm. That must be the girl who was supposed to be the sacrifice for the Vampire Monarch but she decided to steal her.
I didn't think she would've kept that girl alive till now. Why hasn't she eaten her yet?
Ahh, I'll think about this later.
"Your instincts are correct," I said to the boy. "That woman is certainly dangerous. That's why I need you to do something for me. If you do this, I will give you my word to make all your life goals come true."
"O-Okay… Yeah, okay! Tell me what I need to do?"
A smile appeared on my face as I heard him give me a positive response. With a nod, I summoned several ball-shaped grenades from my smart bracelet.
Seeing that, the kid couldn't help but gulp in anxiety. Maybe he was now regretting accepting my request thoughtlessly.
However, it's too late to back out now.
I handed him the grenades as I said, "Take these and get as close to that woman as you can."
