Chapter 18

"Woah, woah! Hang on a sec, I'm not done explaining yet!" Frank turned to Lauren quickly, "Pull up the mirror of Lincoln's stream. Vinny, would you believe me if I said I could show you footage of real aliens coming from interdimensional portals to invade the Earth?"

"Listen kid, I don't know what made you think coming in here and trying to sell me on little grey men was a fun idea, but it sure the hell will get a call to your father and a ban from my store. You can forget about any range practice after a stunt like this!" He spoke over Lincoln's introduction, Lauren started tracking through the video to find the part where the portal breaks, shortly to be followed by the appearance of the goblins.

"Just watch. They're not greys, they're goblins. Think of a fantasy novel, except its real" The younger clerk, Greg, was now curious and had walked over to watch the video.

He called out suddenly, "Hey, one of the streamers I watch reacted to this a couple hours ago, but her video got taken down. I recognize the guy speaking from her stream. She posted about a weird takedown she was given, with no account strike applied. It spooked her. How'd you get this?"

"One of his followers recorded the whole thing, this is a mirror upload of the live footage" Frank responded right as Lincoln broke into the clearing with the goblins. When the fighting started, Vinny asked to pause and rewind it.

"Alright, hang on. I've seen movies, and I've seen combat. This guy isn't very experienced, but I can tell he's not shooting like he's in a movie. And the way those... things... die. It's very similar to the real deal" Vinny began to rub his balding temple with his fingers. "But goblins aren't real. That has to be computer made!"

"I kinda hate to do this but if it'll seal the deal for you, I can tell you why I'm certain they're real, and why I'm sure I can fight them with some training. Take a good look at me. Now you see me, right?" Frank stepped back from the counter and held up his hands as if to show he had nothing up his sleeves. Then he activated [Total Invisibility] and the world faded to a darker shade, he watched his body disappear from the reflection on the display cases, and the jaws of Vinny and Greg come crashing to the floor. "Now you don't"

"Bull-fucking-shit!" Vinny yelled out, slumped against the counter, reevaluating what he knew to be real. Frank picked up a duck shaped dog toy from a shelf beside the cash register and made a show of flapping its wings while he walked around with it, giving the appearance of the toy flying on its own.

Greg was the first to shake from his disbelief. 

"Wait, so how does that explain the Goblins? And the guy who recorded his firefight against them?" The young cashier asked

"I'm glad you asked" Frank quickly dismissed his skill and put the duck back on the shelf before teleporting back over to the group to explain, causing the two men to gasp and Lauren to finally take a breath she had been holding in. Frank quickly filled them in on the coming apocalypse predicted in his dream, his miracle weight loss and how it all tied in with his powers.

"So that's why you need to get a knife for your sister? So she can defend herself from goblins? I'll admit, this is the first time I've ever got that excuse" Vinny finally said when the explanation was done.

"And orcs, much bigger and way meaner than goblins from what I can tell. Luckily, I haven't had to deal with any yet. I'll also be coming around to buy a gun once I've saved up"

"Say, Frank. Can we tell people about this? Or is this like a ''hush hush, don't tell anybody' kind of thing?" Greg asked

"I encourage you to tell people, actually. The better informed people are, the better their chances if things get bad"

"But what about the stream that got taken down? Someone doesn't want people to know!"

"Every person we can get through to is a person with a better chance than someone caught off guard. If someone tries to get in the way, that's blood on their hands far as I can see it"

Vinny took his face from his hands, a placid look on his face like he finally accepted some sort of fate.

"Look kid" He said, standing up from his chair, "I can't sell your sister a knife. I can't sell it to you if you're going to give it to her. But, knowing what I know now, I can't let my conscience see a young girl scared for her life without some kind of defense. So, if you want to buy a gun today, I'll throw in a free knife of your choice" He winked at Lauren, whose face lit up with a bright smile as she stifled a giggle, "and I'd hate to see a young man with such raw potential charge headfirst into a fight this world has never seen before without a worthy weapon so I'll give you a fat discount. We'll call it a special because you're coming in for a class tomorrow with your family"

"Holy... Vinny, I don't know what to say!"

"Say less, just give me an idea what you're looking for and promise you'll remember who gave it to ya when you squeeze off a few rounds between some alien eyes, okay? It ain't every day you see two examples of freaky whack-a-doo shit at once"

With that, Frank started looking around the display cases for a handgun. He wasn't sure what he wanted. At first, he was thinking of something with a larger round for more stopping power. He mostly found revolvers fit what he had in mind, but then he realized that even with a speed loader he would have to reload every 5 to 6 rounds depending on the size of the cylinder. He wasn't sure he could afford that sort of time in a fight, even if the goblins used spears more often than bows.

He decided he wanted to look at a semi automatic, it would be less punishing to miss a few rounds when he had more of them in a clip. But he was concerned about the stopping power a smaller round would have against a monster. Sure 9mm rounds are plenty effective against people and most Earth life, but what about goblins? or orcs? Would it even tickle one of those dinosaurs in the livestream earlier if he had to run away from one? Maybe if he hit it in the eye...

Then he saw it. Black, semi-automatic, with a grip made to look like a dark black marble flecked with gold. It looked like an overly flashy and gaudy piece, like you're paying more for a statement than a reliable weapon. But it looked exactly like the one Frank used in his fight against the orcs in his dream. Like it was pulled right out of his head and landed in this display case.

"Eyes set on that one? It looks like a bit much, but its a good piece. Shoots 10mm, so its got a little more kick than most of the other guns on that part of the shelf. More people get 9mm so they kinda skip over this one. But you might need the extra kick, huh?"

"Do you think it'll punch through armor? Or leather hides?" Frank asked

"With some effort, probably. If nothing else, you'll injure your target very badly even if it doesn't penetrate. I'll be honest, I've never had the pleasure to test any of my guns against steel plate armor like a knight would use. Polymer textile body armor and plate carriers? Yeah there's some good ones that would stop a round like that, but I doubt your fantasy creatures are wearing anything meant to stop a bullet if they send their guys in with armor at all. I mean that one guy you showed me fought ones practically dressed like cavemen!"

"I'll take it. And a few boxes of ammo, please"

"Uh, Frank don't you have to do like... a background check or something?" Lauren gently asked

"Young lady, what decade do you think this is? The 2020's? We have constitutional carry in this whole country now, ain't no need to do more than prove your brother is old enough to carry" Vinny chuckled aloud as Lauren stared at her shoes in embarrassment. With a large discount on the gun, and ammo at its cheapest price in a long time, Frank was ready to pick out a nice knife for his sister. Thankfully both Vinny and Greg were now fully aware of the pressing need for Lauren to carry a weapon as well if the world was set to flip into absolute turmoil any day now. 

"What about this one?" the teenage girl point to a dark purple handled knife with a black blade and spiderweb designs. Frank wanted to say no, but he did just pick out a gun with a non-standard grip design. He wanted to look first though, so Vinny took the knife out of the display case and allowed him to hold it. This was not at all standard practice, but Vinny had no fear that Frank would injure him or steal the knife, which he was giving away for free anyway. 

Frank concentrated on the knife and tried to figure out if it was a cheap piece of trash, or a proper and resilient blade for what it was. When he picked it up with his focus still on it, the system popped up to give him context.

'Psychometry skill activated

Object: Ordinary Knife

A mundane cutting implement of poor quality. If sharpened properly it would be halfway to its breaking point. It could last some time with proper care, or break if used in an extreme situation very quickly.

Durability: 6/10'

'Congratulations! You have used your Psychometry skill for the first time! You have achieved Level 1 in [Psychometry]'

'What the fuck? I totally forgot I had this skill. I think I used it like... once. In a dream. I mean, what better way to get used to it than to try it some more?' Frank thought to himself

"Lauren, grab some more knives, I don't think this one is it"

---

After a few more tries, and levelling [Psychometry] to level 2, Frank thought all the knives here in the store were going to be trash. Of course they were probably fine, but if the system took issue with their quality, then Frank wasn't going to argue.

"What are you looking at anyway? I really liked that last one! It was so cute!" Lauren huffed as she started checking out the next display case

"There's a skill I activated that I forgot I had, and it's telling me most of these knives aren't what you need"

"The fuck do you mean? They're just knives!"

"Yeah, with bad durability or cheap construction. Not my words, that's just what the system says"

"Well, I kind of agree there. A lot of these ones you're picking out are kinda... cheap for a reason. They look nice, but they're not exactly the best for quality" Greg was putting together a couple alternative offers that weren't too expensive, but that also weren't mall ninja trash as he offered his input, "How do you like these?"

Lauren took a look at 3 nicer looking blades set before her. All a little bigger than the ones she was looking at, though less flashy. All of them were folding knives as well, so they would be easier for her to carry around.

"Okay Frank, what about these two?" She held up 2 of the recommended knives. One had a sort of weathered look to it as if it were intentionally made to look old and worn despite the blade being fresh and well maintained. The other had a thinner handle with a partly transparent look that was meant to make it look like some kind of red gemstone handle. Whether it was meant to be a ruby or a garnet didn't matter, it was clearly some sort of plastic or epoxy resin. It was good looking, but it didn't seem all too good quality. Until Frank used [Psychometry] to inspect it on a deeper level.

'Psychometry skill activated

Object: Handmade Blessed Knife

A mundane knife at a glance, however the craftsman who created this knife imbued it with the intention that it protect its wielder from mortal danger, just as their grandfather's handmade knife did for them years ago. With passive proximity and focused intention, spiritual energy may charge the innate properties of this blade to cause it to activate.

Special Properties: Lesser Armor Penetration (Dormant)

 Heart Seeking Strike (Dormant)

 Lesser Mortal Wound (Dormant)

Durability 12/12

Charge: 0.5/10'

"What the actual fuck? That's OP!" Frank called out, getting Vinny's attention from the other side of counter as well as puzzled looks from Greg and Lauren, "You need to take this one, no question"

"I mean... it's nice and all but it looks kinda... silly I guess" Lauren twirled her hair in her fingers, wondering what made it so good.

"Yeah well it's fucking magical, so you're gonna take it"

"Bullshit"

"I'll read the system's description word for word right now, tell me the special powers it has don't sound like stupid strong properties" Frank fired back, doing as he said and reading out the [Psychometry] skill's evaluation. When he finished, Lauren's eyes lit up and she saw the gaudy blade in a new light.

"Okay, okay, I'll take it!"

"What the hell?" Vinny scratched his head as he wondered aloud, "That knife? It probably ain't worth more than some of those cheaper ones sitting beside it. I think I got it as part of some garage sale haul a while back. What do you mean it's magical? How does that happen?"

"Don't look at me, I have no idea how that's even possible. I just wanted to see if it was a nice knife that wouldn't break. Turns out, it's in perfect condition and it's just missing some sort of charge. Probably not batteries, but like a magic charge. No idea how to fix that, but the potential is there"

"That's crazy talk! How the hell am I supposed to know if I got a magic gun or a magic bullet in here somewhere too? Maybe an enchanted duck call or an endless bear spray, while I'm at it! I could be giving away priceless wizard shit for the cost of a normal price and never know!"

Everyone else chuckled at how worked up Vinny was getting, even as he mumbled under his breath and made good on the promised sale he was giving the Lepari siblings, telling himself it was all for their wellbeing.