As he neared the Academy, Morgan altered his route so that he wouldn’t approach the same gate he had previously used. He wanted to spend some time browsing the shop before heading back in. He went to a side gate. It was a section that stuck out from the wall with a small covered gatehouse, where a person could stand out of the rain to open the door. The small room contained a door for people to enter. He set his pack down along the wall outside, beside the gatehouse, leaned against it and stared up at he millions of stars in the sky.

  He wanted to get a longer sword; his current short sword was nice, but it meant that he had to be closer to the sharp pieces the enemies kept shoving at him. He looked down at his clothing, once again in tatters. He was going to need a budget just for daily clothing. A shirt, pants, a pair of boots, a belt, underwear, and socks. 10CT for everything. He decided next time just go with short sleeves from the beginning.

  “Sophia, if I wanted to buy the same thing every day, can you do that for me, or do I need to search for them every time?”

  “I can sort, search, and purchase items. I could automate the process if you want. I do not need you to facilitate or approve the transaction.”

  “Okay then, make a note to purchase the items I have selected here. Should be 10CT to replace everything. If a piece of clothing isn't needed, like socks or boots, don't repurchase them.”

  “That is a simple task. I assume you would not want to pay a tax on those items?”

  “Yes, no tax unless specified. And the bulk purchase of these things should be in private. I will mention when I want to get those items. For today, I am browsing and will buy them myself.”

  “As you wish,” Sophia said, and then there was a tinkling sound.

  “What was that?” Morgan stiffened.

  “Just a joke. The sound was me.” Sophia said mirthfully.

  “Why did I have to get the AI with a sense of humor?”

  “Because you got lucky. Now finish shopping, we’ve got work to do.”

  “Fine.”

  A long sword was 3CT, but he also saw bows and crossbows on the list. A bow would probably not be a good idea. He was always getting sliced; he would need to drop the bow every fight. He placed the replacement cloths, four more ration packs, and a new long sword in his cart.

  “Any suggestions?”

  “Durable armor on your arms and legs would be optimal. You regenerate extremely fast, but losing the function of your hands or feet in the middle of battle could be catastrophic.” Morgan nodded in agreement to her assessment, “Bracers and greaves would be my suggestion.”

  On the list, the best he could afford was a pair of matching metal bracers 2UC and Greaves 3UC. That was a significant investment, but he agreed with Sophia and placed them in his cart. When done, the items appeared in front of him.

  He held up the bracers. They were made of matte metal strips held very tightly together with small clips attached to a thick leather backing. They had flexible metal straps to attach them to his arms. The bracer extended to a small half glove that had slots for his fingers.

  The greaves were the same style and would go from his knees down; they had a small flap that he assumed would cover the top of his ankle. He tapped them together, and they made a soft, barely whisper of a sound. They were dark, but in black and white, that could mean any dark color.

  Examine.

  ::Darkiron Kote -Uncommon- Material: Darkiron - Weight: .5lbs. Properties: Liquid Articulation, Featherweight.::

  ::Darkiron Suneate - Uncommon - Material: Darkiron - Weight: 1.5lbs. Properties: Liquid Articulation, Featherweight.::

  he queried

  The sword was almost twice as long as the one he had been using. Examine.

  ::Bastard Sword - Common - Material: Iron - Weight: 3.5lbs. Properties: No special properties::.

  Belting on the sword’s back scabbard, it felt heavier than the one he had been using all night. The sling for this one was attached around his chest and also attached to his belt. The scabbard made the sword go behind his back at an angle. He had to practice a few times, but he was able to draw and sheath the sword with no problems.

  He went through the forms like he had done the night before. The sword was very nice. The extra weight was unnoticeable after he got used to it. The extra reach was going to be a huge benefit. He could also fit both hands on the handle, which means he could perform even more of the forms with this weapon than with the shorter one.

  He then picked up the bracers and greaves. After a little trial and error, Morgan was able to get them attached comfortably. He noticed that, similar to the leather belt, he would want a layer of clothing under it, or the leather could get a bit chaffing. He went back and purchased a long-sleeve shirt.

  Unauthorized usage: this narrative is on Amazon without the author's consent. Report any sightings.

  She said we, not you. Morgan realized.

  The helmet appeared in his hands. It was black, light, and seemed almost futuristic. The helmet had small three-inch wings on the side that came up from where it covered the ears. Unfortunately, it was open in the front with a gap that would show his face.

  ::Faceless Bastion - Rare - Material: Gossamer Steel - Weight: .5lbs. Properties: Increases Audio Reception::.

  As he slid it over his head, he felt the metal moving as it sealed around his neck. The metal felt like a second skin. It flowed in and covered his face. He started to fear a suffocating claustrophobia, and his heart started racing. Instead, to his surprise, it didn’t stop him from breathing. He could just feel a slight membrane that moved with his skin. Feeling his face with his hands, he felt flat, rough metal all the way to his eyes.

  This mask helmet thing was awesome. He wondered what it looked like. He would try to find a mirror. Okay, let’s get going. He stood and realized he had a few extra swords now.

  “Sophia, can I sell items to the shop?”

  “You can sell items to the shop. Either ones you have purchased, or items you acquire that the system recognizes and has a value for.”

  “Interesting, can I sell back these two short swords?”

  “You will get 1CT each for these common short swords.”

  “Okay. How do I sell them?”

  “You must be touching the item you want to sell. Tell me that you want to sell it, profit.”

  He told her he wanted to sell one extra short sword he had. There was no sound; the sword just faded away. His counter in the bottom went from 327CT to 328CT.

  He decided to keep the one extra short sword just in case. He sold the short-sleeve shirt he had bought.

  He hadn't used his old backpack, so he wanted to sell that as well.

  Oh well, he placed it into the pack, along with the new clothes and rations.

  He had just decided it was time to go inside when he heard a weird squeak noise and hushed voices heading toward the gatehouse from the opposite side of his sitting position. He placed his pack down as tightly in the corner as he could, listening as hard as he could.

  “Boss said to use this gate, I am sure of it.” A man said in a harsh whisper.

  “I’m telling ya, it was the one we passed before this un,” Another man whispered.

  “This one. We wait for a minute. If no one shows, we can head to the other.”

  “Why ain’t we use a light, it’s darker than spit out here?”

  “There could still be guards, Marsh said he would be here, he will be here.”

  Morgan risked a glance around the gatehouse from his little impromptu hideout. About 100 feet away, two men, one tall, large, and rotund, the other tall and stocky, were walking toward the gatehouse, pushing a large wagon made from the back half of a pickup truck. The entire front, engine, and cab had been removed, and only the four wheels and bed remained, with a set of handles for pushing and steering.

  As the men got closer, Morgan tried to get himself as close to the wall as possible.

  They stopped, and he heard a rustle. Then the truck-turned-wagon rolled into view, only 10 feet from Morgan. They were pushing from the side to turn it around. The squeak was from one of the wheels. Once it was turned all the way around, the two men just stood there, complaining about wasting time.

  Less than 5 minutes later, a rasping noise sounded from the gatehouse, and some soft talking. Morgan crept as close as he could to the edge of the wall. Peering around the corner, Morgan saw a man, much shorter than the two with the cart, holding a small marble of soft light in his hand. He was wearing a dark gray cloak over his clothes, but the hood was pulled back, revealing blonde hair and a neatly trimmed beard.

  The men were having a hushed conversation that Morgan couldn’t hear from where he was. Then the rotund man rose, their voice slightly annoyed.

  “Whatcha mean? Come back tomorra night?”

  The other large man interjected, placing his hand on the rotund man’s shoulder, “Boss said you would have the weapons tonight. We were planning to come today to attack.”

  Morgan’s breath hitched. They were planning to attack the Academy.

  “Well, the plan might change. This was supposed to be a quick con to get some fast goods. But this is working out better than we could have hoped. I have scoped the joint, give this to Johanson,” he handed the stocky man a small envelope, “I am sure he will agree to my plan. Send Johanson a message about the delay, then take the note with the plan.”

  The fat man placed a hand on the side of his head, concentrated for fifteen seconds, and then said, “I have informed the boss about the delay. He wants to see this plan, but he agrees. The amount of tokens he has been getting is far more than he could have planned. He will give you one more week.”

  The cloaked man said, “We could be living like kings in here within the week, and that dumb old bitch won’t be able to do anything about it. She has weak kittens in here as guards; they will be pushovers. If they don't surrender, we can kill the lot of em. There are some good-looking broads in here, too.”

  Morgan’s hand rose over his head without him thinking; his grip was tight on the hilt of his sword. He was getting ready to go and try to take out all three.

  Sophia said, Morgan relaxed his hand with conscious effort. She continued, Morgan withdrew his hand from his sword.

  “I’ll give your note to the boss, but what about this cart? I’m not trying to push this all the way back,” the stocky one declared.

  “Just take it away a couple blocks and hide it in a garage or something. All these houses have been scavenged already; no one is going to be in them.”

  “This ain’t fair,” the fat guy complained, “We was sposed to be in there in a few hours. You’s in there with all those broads, we’s out here with just the couple we’s found hiding.”

  The cloaked man laughed scornfully at the fat man. “There will be more than enough to go around, just you wait. At least you are back at the mill, having fun with the girls we already found. I was in the heights for eight years, haven’t even touched a board yet; it’s killing me. Now get going, it will be light soon, I can’t be seen with you, or it’s all over anyway.” With that, the cloaked man turned just as Morgan ducked back behind the corner.

  The sound of the gate closing in the gatehouse scraped against his nerves. He wanted to get that man.

  Morgan thought.

  Was he really ready to kill two men? Is he willing to add even more horrors to his list for the day? How different were these men from the monsters he had fought all night? Just because they didn’t have fangs and claws didn’t mean they weren’t just as vile and inhuman.

  Decision made, Morgan drew his bastard sword and padded almost silently after the two large men.