Theo went silent for a mont.
He hadn’t actually thought about what he wanted to ask for.
’I could ask for money,’ he thought. ’But that’s not what I should ask for.’
Iris was clearly well off, which ant it would be far easier to obtain sothing rare like cultivation resources or high-level techniques.
"What are the limits?" Theo asked, slowly looking up.
A soft smile appeared on Iris’s face as she studied him.
"Just na sothing," she said. "If it’s reasonable, I’ll get it done."
Theo let out a silent breath, his mind churning.
Cultivation resources would be useful, high-level techniques even more so. But those were items that would only benefit him far in the future.
He needed sothing that he could use right now.
’I need a weapon,’ he thought, nodding once. ’And an actually good one at that.’
Weapons were far more effective in close combat situations like before. If he’d had a sword at the ti, he could’ve channeled so mana into it and sliced straight through the lizards.
’The earlier I start training with a weapon, the more of an advantage I’ll have later.’
Usually, a good weapon that suited the elent he used would cost a fortune. So what better place to ask for one than here?
"I want a weapon," he said.
Iris didn’t look particularly surprised. "What kind?"
Theo opened his mouth, then closed it again.
In school, he’d trained with most of the basic weapons and perford well with them. But now he needed one that perford well with the lightning elent.
’Lightning elent is concentrated on speed and penetration,’ he thought. ’Only a spear and a rapier suit those requirents.’
He thought briefly, then nodded.
"...A spear," he said.
Iris stared at him for a mont. Then she let out a soft laugh while shaking her head.
"Be more specific," she said. "Elents require pretty specific weapons to perform at their best."
Theo nodded slowly, though he didn’t actually know what suited him.
Seeing that, Iris let out a quiet sigh, the teasing smile fading.
"You have the lightning elent, right?" she asked.
"Yes," Theo responded.
"Alright," she said. "I’ll have one made for you."
She raised a hand in the air, tracing a faint shape.
"It’ll be a forked spear. One central blade... and two smaller blades along both sides."
She paused, a warm smile reappearing on her face. "Your lightning elent should be able to bounce around between the blades, making it far stronger."
"Really?" Theo asked, raising an eyebrow in surprise.
"I’m sure of it," Iris smiled. "As for its quality, I’ll get it made with so good materials that’ll last you until you reach Gold Core."
She paused, locking eyes with him. "That’s the least I can do for soone who saved my life."
Theo’s mouth opened, but no words ca out.
A weapon like that would’ve cost him at least two hundred thousand dollars if he wanted to get it made.
"...Thank you," he said finally, his voice steady. "But you really don’t have to go so far."
Iris simply smiled.
A brief silence followed, neither knowing what to say.
Then Iris cleared her throat lightly. "I’ll need your number."
Theo raised an eyebrow. "My number?"
A faint blush appeared on her cheeks as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"That way I can let you know when it’s ready," she added. "It should only take a few days."
"Ah," Theo nodded in understanding. "Makes sense."
He pulled out his phone and handed it to her.
They quickly exchanged numbers.
"I’ll contact you as soon as it’s done," Iris said, glancing at the screen before saving it. "It really shouldn’t take long."
Theo nodded slowly.
Now that everything was done, the exhaustion he’d been holding back finally started to creep in again. His body felt heavy and ached everywhere, reminding him just how intense the fight had been.
"I’ll go back ho now," he said, glancing at the ti.
"Of course," Iris replied imdiately. "You pushed yourself pretty hard."
She looked at him for a second longer, then nodded to herself.
"Get ho safely," she said, her voice low. "And once again, thank you for today."
Theo smiled faintly and nodded once.
With that, Theo turned and stepped out of the tent. In an instant, the sounds of the military camp filled his ears again.
’Today was chaotic,’ he thought, massaging his neck with one hand. ’But very well worth it.’
In just a few days...
He’d finally have a weapon of his own.
’I can’t wait.’
He glanced around briefly, admiring the soldiers moving around the camp with serious and concentrated expressions on their faces.
Each had their own tasks. So were going on patrol, so were unloading crates, others checking weapons before their shift.
As Theo passed by a group of guards near the outer periter, he caught part of their conversation.
"This isn’t normal," one of them said.
"The creatures are behaving strangely, yeah," another replied quietly. "They aren’t usually this mindlessly aggressive."
"Mhm," the first one nodded. "We’ll just have to be a little careful."
"Yeah," the second guard replied, chuckling. "I’m sure we’ll all be fine."
Theo’s steps slowed for half a second.
He glanced at the shoreline as he left the military camp, tilting his head slightly.
’It was pretty strange, yeah,’ he admitted inwardly.
During the fight earlier, the shore dwellers and lizards had acted like mindless creatures.
While F-rank creatures weren’t supposed to have much intelligence, their instincts should’ve warned them of the danger and made them flee.
He exhaled slowly.
’Who knows,’ he thought. ’Maybe it’s just mating season or the sight of their dead kin that made them enraged.’
Figuring out the reason behind sothing like that wasn’t up to him anyway; there were monster behavior analysts for that.
And if sothing was truly wrong?
The higher-ups would recall all of the low-ranking hunters temporarily while they dealt with it.
’I wonder what my parents would say if they knew I’d gotten injured already,’ he thought, chuckling slightly. ’Highly doubt I’d ever hear the end of it.’
He rolled his shoulders, suppressing a yawn as he approached the bus stop.
’I really almost died today, huh,’ he thought. ’And it was only my first day.’
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