Expensive Weapon

"Come in, Nathan," Jagger said with a smile.

Nathan walked inside while scanning the room. He saw Joey sitting at the front.

Nathan walked to the back and sat down.

"I guess they wanted extra classes," Nathan thought.

Jagger continued giving tips to the few students in the class for some minutes before it finally ended.

The students walked out of the class leaving only Nathan and Jagger.

Joey waved at Nathan and he replied with a nod before she left.

"I didn't know that classes hold on saturdays," Nathan said even though he knew what happened.

"Some of the students asked for some tips on skill creation and I just decided to help them," Jagger said with both hands in his pockets.

"That's really good," Nathan replied.

He was thinking of a way to ask Jagger about the watch.

"So why did you come to the classroom?" Jagger asked.

"Oh.....I actually came to look for you."

"Is there any problem?" Jagger asked.

"I don't have a measurement watch," Nathan said, going straight to the point.

"The watches were distributed to every student in the welcoming speech, so how come you don't have one?"

"I wasn't able to attend the welcoming speech because I was having some pains," Nathan lied.

He wasn't just going to tell him that he left the welcoming speech to fight a jealous dude in the forest.

Jagger didn't reply. He seemed to be thinking about it before he finally said something.

"Follow me," he said shortly.

Nathan followed him and they entered one of the many skyscrapers.

"You can wait here," Jagger said.

Nathan stood by the door. He saw Jagger speaking to the middle aged in the counter.

While looking around, he saw different machines with different designs.

"How were all these machines made?" Nathan couldn't help but think about it.

The middle-aged man was wearing a black suit and his black hair was neatly trimmed. He had a cold expression on his face making him look unapproachable.

Even though they were some distance away from him, Nathan was still able to hear them with his enhanced hearing.

"So what do you want, Jagger," the man said.

From the way the man spoke to Jagger, Nathan was sure that they knew each other.

"You're still as cold as ever, Finn," Jagger said.

"If you're just here to discuss then you might as well leave," Finn said.

"Okay, okay, one of my student doesn't have a measurement watch," Jagger said.

"Wasn't it given to the students in the welcoming speech event?"

"It was but he wasn't able to attend it due to some issues," Jagger replied.

"And what were the issues?" Finn asked.

"Are all these questions necessary? He just needs the measurement watch since he hasn't gotten one." Jagger sighed.

Finn looked at Nathan who was standing near the exit of the building.

Nathan stared back at him and their eyes met, locked in a staring contest with none refusing to look away. 

Finn averted his gaze and cleared his throat before speaking.

"I can only give him the spare watch, nothing else," Finn said.

Jagger knew that all students have a spare watch that is kept by the academy incase the one given to them is lost or broken.

"If anything happens to this watch, he won't be getting another one." Finn added.

"That's acceptable," Jagger said with a sigh.

Jagger gestured for Nathan to come.

"What's your room number?" Finn asked.

"102," Nathan replied.

He remembered always seeing that number written on his room door.

Finn pressed a button on his table that let out a blue light.

"Bring the spare watch for the occupant of room 102," he said.

"Alright, I'll be right there," a female voice said from the other end.

A minute later, a lady also dressed in a black suit entered the building.

She walked to the counter and tapped the ring on her finger.

A phone like object and a watch dropped on the table lightly.

"Please, put your thumb on this device," the lady said.

Nathan put his right thumb on top of it and the device started scanning it.

Room 102 appeared on the device after scanning his thumb.

"The registered thumbprint on my door was also used for this." Nathan reasoned.

"Please, don't misplace this," the lady said while giving him the watch.

The watch was brown colored and had a rough edge and the screen was blank.

Nathan nodded his head and wore the watch on his wrist.

"Why does that boy have so much confidence?" Finn thought.

After thanking Jagger for his help, he left the building and went to his next destination, Felix's shop.

Felix was hitting a hot sword that was covered in low flames with a huge hammer.

"Hey boy, you want to buy another sword," he asked after seeing Nathan.

"I want an upper rank short sword," Nathan said.

"Give me some minutes," Felix said.

He continued hitting the sword for some minutes before attending to Nathan.

Felix opened a door that was at the side and Nathan entered.

"These are the upper rank weapons, you can choose from here," Felix said.

Nathan browsed through all the short swords he could find and picked one.

"I'll take this," Nathan said.

"Okay, that's gonna be one thousand energy stones."

"What?! Why is it so expensive?" Nathan asked.

"Look, upper rank weapons and above are expensive unlike low and middle rank."

"A weapon made from the heart of a low and middle rank beast gives the user a big boost in strength but that of upper rank and above has skills imbued in the weapon." Felix explained.

Nathan now understood why the price was high. The difference in strength was huge.

"I guess I'll still buy it," Nathan said.

"It's called the energy sword and it is made from the heart and bones of a swamp lizard. It also has an armour," Felix said.

"So what's it's unique skill?"

"When ability energy is imbued into it, it can increase the energy and release it in the form of a slash and the power and range of the slash depends on the amount of energy imbued into it," Felix said.

"Hmmm, it's okay. I'll also buy the armour," Nathan said.

"Okay, the armour is strong and the skill is similar but it transforms the energy into a barrier that protects the user."

Felix brought the armour and it was a red chest plate that still allowed mobility. The hilt of the sword was also red in color.

Suddenly, his watch vibrated and he looked at it.

Upper rank short sword and armour, those were the words written on it.

"Nice," Nathan muttered.

"That'll be two thousand energy stones," Felix said.

Nathan paid for them and was left with fifty energy stones.

"At least you now have a good weapon," Siena said.

"I'm already feeling the strength boost from the sword," Nathan replied.

He carried them to his room and arranged them neatly.

"So, I'm now a half-step middle rank gifted," Nathan thought while looking at his uniform.

There was only one star at the back before, but now there was half a star beside it.

The uniform was made in a way that senses the energy of the wearer and increases the number of stars if the required number of skills is reached.

Earth fist is Nathan's third skill, so he has reached the required number of skills to become a half-step middle rank gifted.

"It'll keep increasing the more you get skills," Siena said.

His mind diverted to his family.

"I'm sure Flora is alive but the problem is that I don't know where she is," Nathan thought.

"The only way to look for her is by leaving the academy," Siena said.

"I'll find a way to do that even if it takes time" Nathan said in a determined tone.

 **************************

"Huff, that's enough training for today," Lena said tiredly.

"Gosh, I'm also tired, Joey said.

The sweat made her pink hair and clothes stick to her body more, highlighting her sexy and curvy figure. 

Both of them decided to train with their swords and since it was evening, the weapon training room wasn't crowded.

"Who was that boy you were talking to the other day?" Lena suddenly asked.

"Huh? Which boy?"

"The cute one with the blue hair," Lena replied while chuckling.

"Uhm... he's just my friend," Joey replied.

"Is that all?" Lena asked while still chuckling.

"Why do y'all assume that any boy and girl talking with each other are in a relationship?" Joey said.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," Lena said.

Nathan didn't have any idea that someone was being teased in the same way he was teased by Siena.

[A/N: I'll explain the history of artifacts and even the materials used by the humans when the time comes. It's part of the plot. Thanks]