Chapter 34 - Equipment

The discrepant outcome of the fight between Kaito and Victor was the only topic of conversation throughout the rest of the day at the Mandatory Teaching Academy, and as if Kaito's presence hadn't caught the attention of the entire school since the beginning of his first day, surely in the hallways there would be no more talk about anyone other than him for at least the next few days.

For his part, Kaito is exhausted as he walks back to the house. Dozens of people have spoken to him during his exhausting day at the Academy, perhaps more than if he counted all the people with whom he has exchanged words during his entire life, but still, he is not in the least bit sorry for what he did with his former abuser. Doing that to Victor bordered on satisfaction. So Kaito makes his way through the crowds that fill the streets of the Commercial Zone with cheer.

Store windows are everywhere, displaying the traditional mannequins with clothes or even holograms of models wearing the trendy clothes of the day, only one particular store window catches Kaito's attention among so many others. In this window, there is a hologram of a tall, strong, handsome man in full armor with a sword over his shoulder, smiling triumphantly.

"Ah! I almost forgot THAT!" Kaito suddenly exclaims and puts his hand in the right pocket of his blouse, pulling out a piece of paper containing a printed list. "I still need to buy the items that the Association demanded."

So, since he is so close to a store that sells items for Duelists, Kaito ventures inside.

Like any other store in that area, the place is filled with people, but most of them are not customers but just people curious about medieval weapons and other things. So when Kaito enters the store wearing his unflattering black military uniform in a place so close to a school district, he is not even considered a possible customer by the clerks, after all, many students enter the store every hour.

Kaito doesn't care about the fact that an attendant doesn't run to serve him, he is too busy thinking about what kind of gun he will buy.

'It is mandatory to have at least one weapon, not to mention basic armor, and it would also be nice to have sturdy boots... Um...'

After a few seconds, Kaito decides that he wants to do a similar build to the one he had in Mortal Tower, meaning that he would rather abuse his agility and strength than risk using a bow or an axe. With this in mind, the obvious ideal is for him to buy a dagger or one-handed sword to use with his agility. With this in mind, he raises his head and looks around, looking for the sword section of the store, which is easily spotted by him as it is the most crowded section of the store and also where most of the attendants are.

Kaito takes a deep breath when he sees all those people and chooses not to go where it is too crowded. He then looks for the dagger section and finds a countertop where he has some on display.

[Basic Steel Dagger - 3000 credits.

Fragment of Light Dagger - 10000 credits.

Silver Dagger - 9999 credits.

...]

There are almost ten options of short blades for sale, but Kaito inevitably takes a few steps back when he sees their frightening price.

"It doesn't even make sense! What the actual fuck is happening here?! Even if I wanted to, I wouldn't have the money to buy a simple Silver Dagger." Kaito thinks out loud as he walks out of the store, startled.

In fact, for someone like Kaito, who has had weapons of the best materials and attributes in Mortal Tower, to have to see these prices for weapons that in the game were basic is nothing more than a rip-off, hyperinflation that he can do nothing but accept.

"I need to make more money and fast," Kaito says loud enough for only himself to hear.

Since signing up to become a Duelist cost 5,000 credits, there are only 5,000 more left in his bank account. Although this amount is enough for Kaito to buy a simple weapon, he will possibly lack money for the rest of the equipment.

Only two ideas arise in Kaito's mind when he thinks about how he will get more money. The first is to sell some more furniture from his house, maybe his old computer or his stove, but this must be his last resort, after all, he is no longer the weakling he used to be, now he can fight.

So Kaito once again hides in one of the many alleys and opens the Z4 Safe Area Map, the same one that showed him where the last portal was.

Kaito scans the map with his eyes, looking for the vortex icon he saw last time, or at least something similar, but something strange catches his attention. His gaze fixed on an icon that does not resemble the one he saw, in fact, because it is so different is the reason it caught his attention in the first place. The icon in question looks like a crack, as if the very fabric of the map were fraying and opening.

Curious and intrigued, Kaito leans closer to the map, examining the crack closely. The interlaced lines seem to pulsate with inexplicable energy as if they are calling to him.

Kaito looks at the rest of the map once more, only there is no icon, only this one of the crack.

His heart races and Kaito immediately becomes curious about what the hell it is. Kaito's mind fills with thoughts and speculations, however, he doesn't want to just keep wondering what this must be and there is only one way to find out: he must go see it with his own eyes.

'That's not far from here, but it's in the White District.' Kaito thinks.

The White District is where most of the luxurious stores and casinos of the Commercial Zone are, so Kaito is a bit worried. Still, he moves on, determined to investigate the crack. He walks through the busy streets, cuts his way through a few alleys, and, to be even faster, he crosses the Red Lights District, which is a place crammed with nightclubs and brothels.

As Kaito crosses this district, the women in front of the nightclubs try to approach him, calling the innocent man to come in.

"Hey, pretty boy! Come on in here and I promise you'll never forget my name!"

"Hmmm... A student? The younger you are, the more potential there is to work with."

"Boy, if you were to go to bed with me, I would drive you crazy!"

"You look lonely, I can fix that!"

Kaito pays no attention to any of the women's comments, and finally arrives at the White District in no more than ten minutes. Immediately he feels the change in the atmosphere. As always, the White District is bustling and, compared to the Forgotten Zone, feels like an alternate reality. The buildings are more imposing, and more lively, the people around them are elegantly dressed, and the air is permeated with a strange smell of cleanliness.

Kaito keeps his head up and his gaze focused on the map, ignoring the curious attention he receives for wearing his black military uniform and for holding a huge sheet of paper in his hands.