Oddball

Nodding in response to Damian's words, the two of them continued to walk through the barracks' corridors, with Damian continuing to explain the purpose and the history of the sections they passed by. At that point, Valyr was halfheartedly nodding in response to every explanation, wanting nothing more than to get away and be able to do his own thing.

Eventually, this monotony was broken as they had arrived at a certain portion of the barracks, prompting Damian to stop walking. Looking at the sight before them, Valyr softly let out a sigh of awe, not expecting a starter village to have a place like this. 'Then again, I haven't really joined any organization at the early stages back then. I should probably keep in mind that this might be commonplace in villages.'

Although it looked somewhat empty, the makings of what could become a priceless armory in the future was in front of them. To the left were uniforms similar to the uniform Damian was currently wearing. On the other hand, the right was filled with racks and boxes filled to the brim with weapons made out of wood. As for the center, actual weapons made out of metal were shown on display, their blades truly having the property to kill anything that touched it. Unlike the weapons made out of wood, there was an air of ferocity around these weapons.

"Welcome to the equipment room, Valyr. In here, all the weapons and uniforms you might use as a guard could be obtained," Damian explained, heading to the left section. "As for skill books and miscellaneous items, those are in another section."

Snapping his fingers to catch Valyr's attention sometime later, Damian then gave him three sets of the uniforms he currently wore. "Here you go. As per custom for any newcomer to the Astarto Village Guards, they're given three sets of the usual guard uniform. If your uniform gets dirty, you can always come here and have your uniform cleaned free of charge."

"Of course, better uniforms, as well as equipment that can go over your uniform, are also available here," he added. "But that's only if you have contribution points to spend."

"Speaking of contribution points, you could join the night patrol later," Damian said after that. "Unlike day patrols, the amount of contribution points you could get from it is around twice or thrice as much. Naturally, the same goes for merit points."

"Let me think about it for now," replied Valyr, making Damian nod as he headed to the right section of the room. He then gestured Valyr to come closer, to which the latter lightly nodded in response as he moved to where the racks and boxes of wooden weapons were.

As Valyr looked at the various types of weapons available for him to choose from, Damian opened his mouth to speak. "Do you have your own weapon?"

In response to the question, Valyr shook his head. Lightly nodding, Damian spoke once more. "Since that's the case, as per custom for any newcomer to the Astarto Village Guards, they're given the freedom to choose any wooden weapon free of charge. Of course, the wooden weapon is just a stand-in until you have enough contribution points to buy an actual weapon made out of metal."

"Though, if you end up sticking with the wooden weapon you chose, that's also fine." Damian shrugged his shoulders. "Weapons aren't the only thing that dictate a person's combat power, after all."

"Anyways, go ahead, Valyr. Choose the weapon that you think will suit you the best." Saying those words, Damian nudged Valyr a bit, prompting the latter to take a step forward as he looked at the weapons in front of him. After looking at his choices for a while, Valyr eventually looked back at Damian. "What if I don't end up choosing a weapon?"

"Prefer fighting with your fists? Yeah, that's not a problem either," Damian replied with a light nod. "If you end up coming to the conclusion that you prefer to fight with your fists, we'll give you a set of leather knuckles. However, it'll be on loan, needing you to undergo through multiple patrols to pay off the cost of contribution points to get it."

'Not really what I had in mind, but sure.' Nodding in response to Damian's words, Valyr returned his attention to the weapons he could choose from, picking up some of them from time to time to test them out. However, even though he picked those weapons to test them out, all of them made him shake his head, giving him the feeling that he wouldn't be able to wield them well.

Eventually, after exhausting the various weapon types he could choose from, Valyr stood in front of a rack containing what looked like glorified poking sticks. Picking up one of them, he instantly felt like a connection had been made between him and the weapon, eliciting a wry smile to appear on his face as he scratched his head. 'Well, I guess it makes sense. I did use this as my main weapon in the past, anyway.'

'If I think about it, that also probably explains why the other weapons don't give me the same feeling. After all, unlike this weapon type, I don't have much experience in them.' Looking at the weapon he had picked up once more, he looked back at Damian before raising up the weapon he held. "I'll be choosing this one."

"The spear, eh?" Damian raised his eyebrow with a hint of interest. "That's definitely a rare choice in this place. However, if you think that weapon is the perfect fit for you, then by all means, I won't stop you."

After saying those words, he gave Valyr a long strip of fabric, which he had picked up from a box nearby. Receiving the fabric strip, Valyr then used it to securely tie the wooden spear to his back, making Damian nod in satisfaction. "With just the weapon alone, you're now giving off the air of a village guard."

"Once I finish touring you through this place, go ahead and change into the uniform," he said. "It's definitely more comfortable than what you're wearing right now."

Hearing those words, Valyr briefly glanced at the clothes he currently wore. Comparing the coarse and chalky fabric his clothes were made out of to the smooth and soft fabric of the uniforms, Valyr made a mental note to change into the uniform as the two of them moved away from the equipment room.

"Aside from the treasury, which you could access through the contribution point shop in your system, this is the final room in this barracks that's of importance." After walking through the corridors for a bit more, the two of them stopped in front of a wide field with the ground visible. Multiple training dummies could be seen scattered on the field, with some of them being occupied by a few people as target practice.

"Naturally, there's not much point in having the skills, but not the experience to use them. After all, a skill means the difference between life and death," Damian said. "And that's why we have the training field."

"Speaking of which, one of the other guards who chose the spear is at the training field right now." Looking at the man Damian pointed at, a thought instantly surfaced in Valyr's mind as he watched the man fight against the dummy with his spear.

'That's definitely an oddball.'