"What did you choose?" Wyntor asked.
"Well," Nick said as he scratched the back of his head with an embarrassed smile. "I've always only fought with my fists and legs, you know? I feel like I'm already very used to them, and I don't really want to use anything else."
Wyntor raised an eyebrow.
"So, I'm interested in fist and leg weapons," Nick said.
"Hmm," Wyntor uttered as he thought about what Nick had just said. "I'm not sure if that's such a good idea."
"Why?" Nick asked.
"Your ability," Wyntor said, glancing around to make sure that nobody could hear them.
A moment later, Wyntor pulled Nick to the side so that nobody could listen in.
"You can only properly use your ability when nobody sees you," Wyntor whispered. "Fist weapons are great for extreme close range and grappling, but that makes your ability useless since the opponent can easily tell where you are when you are literally touching their body all over."
"I was thinking more along the lines of a spear or a rapier. Something that allows you to silently stab an enemy with a lot of power."
Nick looked a bit worried. "What about a fist weapon with a blade coming from it? Maybe one that can also retract?"
Wyntor frowned. "Why are you that set on a fist weapon?"
"I'm used to it," Nick said. "Also, I need to silently reach my opponent, right? I want something small that doesn't slow me down."
Wyntor still wasn't the biggest fan of Nick's suggestion. "I feel like you are wasting your biggest advantage. You have to remember that all Zephyx Extractors design their fighting style around their ability, and if you don't do that, you will be at a disadvantage against everyone. Additionally, Specters also focus on their abilities."
Nick just looked at Wyntor with a worried expression, and Wyntor realized that this wasn't an expression of someone who was thinking about changing their choice but someone who was afraid of angering someone because of something they were about to say.
When Wyntor saw that, he only sighed.
"Fine," he said. "It's your decision anyway."
Nick released a sigh of relief.
"However," Wyntor added. "I still want you to get something else in case you change your mind in the future."
Nick only smiled happily. "Sure!"
Wyntor only massaged the bridge of his nose as the two of them walked back to the stall.
"Which one do you want?" Wyntor asked.
Nick went forward and grabbed a set of cuffs.
There were two long metallic bracers, which were supposed to go on the shin, and two bracers for Nick's wrists.
However, the bracers for Nick's wrists had an addition.
About 30 centimeters long and very wide blades came out of them.
In a way, the blades almost looked like equilateral triangles.
They were designed this way to make the blades stable and also able to block attacks. After all, it was normal to block or parry an attack with the back of one's hand.
In order to fit the arm better, the blades were also curved, encompassing the back of the hands.
When Wyntor saw the four cuffs, he raised an eyebrow. 'That's actually not that stupid.'
But when Wyntor saw the price, he frowned.
"Nick, you need better ones," Wyntor said.
Nick's eyes widened in surprise. "But these are already so expensive!"
"Nick, poor people can't afford to buy cheap."
Nick's brain froze as it tried to understand what Wyntor meant.
When Wyntor saw Nick's confusion, he sighed again.
"Think about how hard these blades are, and now, think about how strong you are with your ability."
"These blades are designed for Peak Newbies, and with your ability… you know…" Wyntor said, not revealing any sensitive information.
Nick looked at the blades, and he slowly realized what Wyntor meant.
"Oh, now I get it!" he shouted. "Since poor people don't have a lot of money, they have to buy cheap stuff, but the cheap stuff breaks very quickly, which forces them to buy more cheap stuff. If they had the money, they could buy something more expensive that doesn't break, which might even cost fewer credits in the long run!"
"Yes, Nick," Wyntor said. "That's what the phrase means."
"But I don't have the money for something better," Nick said. "Also, I don't think they sell better stuff here."
"It's fine," Wyntor said. "Since you now know what you want, I will get you what you need my own way. Give me one to three days, and you will get your weapons."
"They will be of much higher quality and will hold longer, but they will also be more expensive."
"For now, I'm going to pay for them since I trust that you will quickly pay me back," Wyntor said.
Nick didn't feel great accepting such a gift, but he also knew that this was probably the best way to go about it.
If Nick got into a fight with these blades and punched someone with them while his ability was active, they might break into pieces.
Nick would soon become a Peak Newbie, and when he reached that level, he would be about 25 times more powerful than a normal adult male with his ability active.
It would be like a rhinoceros wearing the blade on its horn and charging at a wall.
Due to his ability, Nick had to use equipment created for Mid Johns and stronger.
"Okay, thanks, Wyntor," Nick said.
Wyntor just nodded.
Then, Wyntor turned to Jenny and Trevor. "Do you still need something?"
"I don't think we have any money left," Trevor said with an embarrassed smile.
Wyntor nodded. "It was more of a rhetorical question."
Jenny and Trevor just chuckled politely.
"Then, let's go back," Wyntor said.
Wyntor turned around to-
"Hey, Winny."
Wyntor came face to face with an equally tall man with light-brown hair.
Surprisingly, the man's face looked very similar to Wyntor's, and his hair had the same color.
However, there were two distinct differences.
First, he was maybe two to five years older than Wyntor.
And second, he wore the official uniform for Zephyx Extractors, and it had two stars on it.
That meant he was a level two Extractor.
