Mystic Tool and Weapon Shop

"Finally… here." It had been a long walk, but she was finally able to get a transport to the expanse.

The air felt more cleaner when she arrived…

It was better than the Slum City, which barely reached modern standards of health practices.

The skyscrapers moved with regular housings didn't make the place seem futuristic, but there were bits of amazing tech scattered here and there. Especially with introduction of 'Points'.

A convenient fuel source 'extracted' from foes.

Electricity was hard to generate in a world constantly being attacked by undead creatures.

That's why electricity was 'created' instead.

The 'Points System' of Hope Academy encouraged students to extract energy from residents of the Underworld. Not the 'Nether Points' that Anima gave, but the 'Divine Points' of living entities.

The latter being easier to find than the latter.

While walking down the street, she saw a familiar shop in the district close to where she was once educated as an Executioner. It was an ordinary shop that sold devices made from 'Divine Points'.

She walked into the store and saw the shopkeeper standing there, but he didn't recognise her at all.

Still, she waved at him before a casually striding into the store. Her eyes were window shopping.

"Hmmm…" She looked at a certain bright canister.

It was a battery likely containing two Divine Points.

"Umm, Sir?" Anya quickly went to the counter. Her eyes blinked cutely, with near childish sincerity.

"Yes?" The bearded man's forehead wrinkled. Ha didn't seem to like how poor she seemed to look.

"Why are you selling 'Divine Points'?"

"Because this is a shop for those kinds of stuff." A strange expression appeared from this response.

She didn't know what to make of this…

"You DO know Divine Points aren't authorised to be sold, right?" Her hand traced the hidden weapon.

The red cloak stopped him from seeing it.

"The laws have changed recently." The man didn't seem dishonest, and she also wanted some peace.

Anya decided to give him the benefit of the doubt.

Seeing that she was looking at him strangely, the man gasped… as if he'd figured out her identity:

"You're from the Academy, aren't you? Are you an Investigator or Dragoon?" He asked her politely.

"…Investigator." She sighed in relief.

There were many bad rumours floating about when it came to the Lower Region. Not all of them false.

Poverty could drive people to do many things…

"Well damn~ Now aren't you a looker. Must be a genius." He smiled, rubbing his hands greedily.

'How old does he think I am…?' She started to think. Mouth twitching despite her silent smile.

It was hard forcing such a natural expression…

Her face only eased up when she remembered he'd always been like this. He acted like a 'honest' man.

Perhaps her nostalgia had clouded her memory. It looked like the old guy was the same as always.

She didn't mind though.

"A pleasure…" She shook his hand and let him continue thinking she was as old as her baby face.

It wouldn't do any harm to her anyway…

"Did you come to buy anything specific?"

"Maybe a magazine about the latest trend in weapons used by Dragoons. You know… 'normal'."

"How long has it been since you visited these parts? You seem unfamiliar to many things."

"I've just arrived today." Anya didn't bother lying.

"Then your current weapon?"

"I'm… keeping it a secret." She forced a smile. He would definitely recognise her masterpiece easily.

Such unwanted attention was unnecessary…

"That's fine~ Young people nowadays don't like showing off their weapons. It's their life, after all."

"Pardon?" She didn't understand his statement.

"Wow, you must have been out for a REALLY long time. An advice for a senior: Don't ask try asking Academy students to look at their primary arm. It would just make them uncomfortable and fidgety."

'Did he figure out my position?' Maybe thinking he thought of her as a student was going too far.

That, or her lack of knowledge gave her away.

She'd heard that students of the Anti-Martial Academy were educated even before initiation.

That must have been the reason for it.

"You know a lot…" Admittedly, it took a keen eye for detail to notice such things from just a few words.

Was he always like this, or had she not noticed it?

"Have to. You can't run a proper Mystic Tool and Weaponry Shop without some know-how 'bout it."

Her opinion of him changed a little. He was a bit greedy, but this old man was good at his job.

"I'd like to look at any guns you have… for now."

"Easy!" He took her to the back, where there were many arms encased with magic bulletproof glass.

Even going as far as to show the latest technology.

It was really different from what she remembered…

"Limiters can be improved now?" She asked while looking at a glove embedded with glowing gems.

Seeing how unfamiliar she seemed, the shop owner made a bitter smile. He cleaned his glasses…

She expected him to make fun of her ignorance. To say she was a country bumpkin for not knowing.

However, his next words jolted her attention:

"You're… from Old Faustus, aren't you?" The man spoke of the current respectable title for the city.

Rather than calling the place the slums…

"Yeah…"

"I get it now. Back then, these 'Limiters' were just introduced as preventers for the Extinction Virus."

"I don't need to wear one now."

"Meaning: You've achieved a certain level as an Investigator. Probably the E Rank of Inner Energy."

"Is there a point to knowing that?"

"…Sorry, sometimes I ramble a bit." He turned away from her and remembered those dark times.

The old 'Faustus City' was once a monolith that protected the Rosemary Expanse from Anima.

The base of the old Steelware Military has once been occupied there. Doing their part for humanity.

Then, the Extinction Virus kicked in…

It was corruption caused by the 'Nether Qi' that Anima would produce every time they, well.. 'died'.

Energy associated with only death…

…and yet, different from the Attribute of 'Death'.

Rather than a form of 'Life Force', like Qi, it was instead a sort of energy from the Underworld.

'Nether Force', to use the scientific term.

Radiation that was only harmful to the living, and was only useful when creating the antidote to the Extinction Virus. Even after so long, Limiters were needed to prevent the energy from infecting most.

It was staple for every child to be fitted with a Limiter when they were born, until their body could handle the stress of taking an antidote. It was a new plague no one could contain at the source.

There were no new 'Variants' of it for now, but there was still the need for most to wear a Limiter.

The only good thing that had happened since then was that humanity seemingly 'adapted' to this.

Magi of the Association had found that it was indeed possible for regular people to harness the power from the second disaster, the 'Faceless'. An enemy from the Underworld that were still alive.

Though living, they were creatures unlike humans though. Being more similar to zombie and undead.

Although having no animalistic characteristics, they were actually trickier to deal with due to their intelligence. They were like Humans, but were instinctually driven to attack 'Earthlings' like them.

The shop owner sighed at the thought…

"Actually… Sorry for being rude." Anya realised she might've been too harsh. He merely pointed it out.

'Calm down…' She thought to herself calmly.

"You weren't. I'm just being a busybody. They DO say I meddle a lot." He waved it off with a laugh.

Then started to explain what the new Limiter did:

"Flesh Points embedded into this Limiter boosts your physicality, Mind Points boost your overall perception, Heart Points boost your emotional fortitude, and Soul Points can create a barrier."

"Normal people can use them?"

"Apparently, yes. You see… They're actually not that popular since you need to undergo training to get a license to use them. For most, they'd rather spend money to get Divine Points. Nowadays, you can even buy artificial Qi Centres of varying types."

"That's… impossible…" It sounded too good to be true. She was unable to accept it'd be so easy.

One of the reasons Hope Academy fell was because mastering Internal Qi to improve the rank was extremely difficult. Most were stuck of F Rank rather than the E Rank she was so proud of.

D Rank seemed to be the absolute limit humans could reach, while Anima only grew more powerful.

Tons of Executioners had died over the years, and those who survived only lucked out due to having great 'Combat Gifts' imparted by the military. If it wasn't for her mentor training, she'd also be dead.

Anima weren't to be underestimated. Especially if they came from the danger zone of 'Slum City'.

Old Faustus had been abandoned for a reason…

But now, she was being told that reaching the D Rank was as easy as buying the rank with money?

What kind of joke was he blabbering?

"I know how you feel. Though it seems like stealing from the heaven… there's a catch to this. A price."

These words brought her back to reality.

Looked like progress didn't undermine her effort.

"Phew…" Rather than asking more, she seemed happy on an unconscious level after hearing him.

It was only after did she cover her mouth…

"Don't worry. I don't judge my customers. That was a totally normal reaction to have, if not the best."

"…So what's the catch?"

"Ahem…" Seeing how she buried the subject, he moved on: "It's the need to understand 'Macros'."

"You mean those 'Magic Computers' that were television size big? Do people lug those around?"

Since seeing was believing, the shop owner decided to not answer and reach into his pocket.

He took a USB size piece of tech and handed it to her. Seeing her visible confusion, he explained:

"This is a current generation Macro."

"It's a what now…?"

"I was surprised as you were back then. This little chip you're holding is capable of manipulating Internal Energy. You can consider it the equivalent to a magic wand you see in fantasy stories."

"So… that's what he meant."

"Pardon?"

"Nothing." She stopped mumbling and had a good look at the micro chip. Her eyes looked deeply.

There were two types of engineering she knew of that applied to Mystic Tools and Enchanted Items alike. The first was called 'Spell Circling', while the latter was 'Magic Circuitry'. It was pretty crude.

Spell Circling had been developed over years to create 'tools with magical abilities', some even having usages outside the boundaries of common sense. For example: A pen with infinite ink.

If one was to look at it like a circuit board, then Spell Circling needed the 'Outer Circle' to contain the calibrations of what the Tool did, while the 'Inner Spell' acted like a chip that did as intended.

Magic Circuitry was a bit different. Since it was even more similar to regular circuitry, there was a lot of engineering practices that could be applied to it easily. The problem was a lack of resources.

You needed constant funding to understand a completely new type of engineering method…

One that had seemingly came out of nowhere.

Even it's creator was named the Sage of the Military and genius engineer, Vanessa Vagabond.

The wife of Celest Vagabond.

Her passing was a pity on the world just like the disappearance of the creator of Limiter technology.

After having a good look at how the miniaturised Magic Circuitry on the Macro had blended perfectly with Spell Circling, she whistled. This was the first time she had seen such a combination.

It almost seemed obvious to draw Spell Circles on top of the circuitry, but the problem was the calibration of the 'Outer Circles'. She wasn't sure how a Macro would work without a power source.

"I'm guessing Inverters have also became foreign to me. You know, those vessels that held Qi?"

"I know. They were made out of Coloured Steel that the Steelware Military were fond of, but they still haven't gotten out of style. Before that, can you buy something?" He finally ran out of his patience.

What merchant liked window shoppers?

Seeing that he was serious, Anya lifted her arms and gave up. She went with something simple.

"Do you have Red Steel Submachine Guns?"

"The Fire Attribute firearms you can hold with each hand? Don't you know their firepower is good, but their recoil is harsh? No one buys them. Even if they ARE experts- I mean… I'll get it right away~"

He seemed filled with glee when running around for the expensive pistols. It wasn't that strange.

Compared to Red Steel, Green Steel of the Wind Attribute had more popularity thanks to its speed.

Blue Steel was popular for rifle users thanks to its precision and handling. Surprisingly, only Brown Steel disregarded as a firearm metal thanks to it only having high durability. It was better for shields.

The shopkeeper imagined the petite lady customer of his using the guns. She'd likely be thrown around by the recoil rather than shoot anything. It was a fun thought… until a sense of reality hit him.

He came back with jelly legs and trembling hairs…

"Are you actually planning on using them in this district?" He asked while hiding his nervousness.

"Nope."

"Hah…" He sighed in visible relief.

"This is just if I need to mass exterminate some Anima. Do you do deliveries?" She took out a card.

After hearing about her new address and confirming her payment, he lead her to the magazines about new trends for tech geeks and gun otakus. The latest trends in battle tech.

"You better buy what you read. I have a camera right there… watching." He glared for a moment.

Seeing that she didn't seem to be the type to cause a problem, he decided to go to his desk.

"Oh~ There's music here too~" Anya became interested in the new songs by her favourite artists.

She wondered if the old guy had good tastes.

Seeing the ancient record player still being used in the shop, she put on the headphones and listened to some tracks. Clicking her finger leisurely while reading an interesting magazine. It was pure bliss.

What she didn't notice was the breaking of the door of the Weapon Shop, which caused the old shop owner to sharply point his Green Steel Combat Handguns. An action out of reflex…

His face changed when a dark figure lunged at him and took away his firearm. It left him defenceless.

A robbery was underway…