"What's your level?" Ruby counter questioned me.
"It's 3, I wanted to aim for 5." I reply honestly, as I think level is one of the information that's safe to tell others.
"Oh? 3? Not bad, not bad." The cocky, diamond watch guy, whose name was Klaus, slapped my shoulders as he praised me.
Let me raise a bet.
I bet all my fucking 45 Sol that this little bitch is going to flex his higher level now.
"I'm already level 5."
I KNEW IT!
Greg, the calmer one and Lina's boyfriend went next, "I'm at 4."
So I was the weakest one, huh.
Now the chances of me getting admitted are a little low.
Luckily, my effort to butterpolish Klaus wasn't in vain at all.
Before Ruby can give me a concrete yes or no, Klaus hummed, gathering attention.
"Since I am already at level 5, I was thinking that we can hit floor 2 today. So maybe you and Greg can grind the floor one and reach my level."
A bright smile crept up my face.
Ruby nodded too, "Since Klaus and Greg are fine with it, we don't mind either."
Lina just wordlessly nodded.
I don't think she has much interest in talking to anyone except her own boyfriend.
Goddamn, I love girls like her.
Ruby then asked me about the equipment and stats, and after seeing that I was a little reluctant to share stats, she told me that she was just asking so she could determine what would be the most ideal way to hunt for me.
Basically, she was acting as my personal trainer at a gym.
But to be a personal trainer, she needed my details such as weight, eating habits, etc etc.
Since I knew that my current stats were completely average, I had no issue with telling all the 5 values to her.
She didn't seem surprised by my 0 magic as she continued to ask if I had any equipment or skill, and I denied.
Obviously duh, I was level 3!
How would I have a skill?
But her intelligence aside, she was a huge help.
"So your highest is stamina and agility, huh? I think a short sword might suit you for now."
I flashed her a bright smile, "I am in your care, I will listen to your advice."
"Ahem," she coughed with a slight blush, how cute. She got shy at just a little tease?
"By the way, Ruby… I only have 45 sol on me, can we buy a short sword for 45?" I gave her a solid puppy eye.
Sometimes you need to use everything in your arsenal to win.
Fuck shamelessness, I want the W.
But it seems that I either overestimated myself, or I overestimated the strength of her wallet.
"I guess we can get a normal cheap one for 40-50, and since we won't go to a higher floor you won't need any armor." She patted my shoulder.
I could only nod with a wry smile, my expectations of receiving an expensive gift were dashed.
But I soon got over it and we both separated from the group, as Ruby offered to help me with the shopping.
Thus, we both were now standing outside a small, gloomy shop.
Its walls appeared dark and grim, as if it hadn't been painted for ages.
On the walls, there were many skulls of various monsters hung, making this place even scarier.
"Boo!"
"Agh- bitch!" I yelped when Ruby suddenly booed in my ear, while I was staring dazedly at the skulls.
She laughed at my yelp, calling me cute while asking the shopkeeper lady to show some shortswords in the 50 sol range.
"Don't go on looks, this place has good quality and budget friendly starter gear." Ruby explained after seeing my judgemental look.
I could only trust her words as the lady returned in a minute, putting 3 short swords in front of me.
I could recognize two of them as I have seen them before, but I was clueless about the third.
One was a cutlass, and the other was a falcata.
I simply ignored the third as it didn't look any particularly exciting.
Cutlass was around 70 cm long, while falcata was only around 50.
After picking both up, the balance of cutlass was much more balanced than falcata, though falcata was able to produce heavier attacks since it was forward weighted.
They both were good picks with their own pros and cons, and Ruby had also left it on me to decide what suits me better.
I gave them both a few swings until I got conscious of the stares I was getting, so I kept both swords back on the table and began to think.
I liked cutlass, it was balanced, had a basket guard at the hilt, and also looked more royal.
Yet, I was leaning more towards the falcata.
Just the sight of that black, heavy metal sword gave me shivers. It looked mean, dangerous and strong.
Just how I wanted to be.
It had no decorations, no fancy guard.
Just a curved handle, wrapped with a dark brown leather for comfortable grip.
"I like this one." I say, pointing at the mean looking blade.
"50 sol," the shopkeeper lady said flatly.
She looked exactly like how I would imagine a 50 year old dominating house queen.
With a small belly, white skin and a bored yet stern expression.
"I only have 45, can we do 45?" I smile, hoping to improve my chances of getting the bargain.
"Sure, can we do without the scabbard?" The shopkeeper quipped.
"..." I stared at her blankly until Ruby pulled out a 5 sol coin and placed it along my 45.
"We'll buy this one."
Yep, this is why I brought her. Lessgo Ruby!
I gratefully thank her for the assistance as the shopkeeper puts my new sword into a black scabbard before handing it to me.
It was a little heavy, but I assumed that a few points in strength would balance it out.
Not like I can't swing it at all, anyway, it just won't be as fluid as it could be.
Me and Ruby made our way back to the group, only to find another girl standing there, chatting with Klaus happily.
Though, she looked a little familiar…
'FUCK ME!'
I remembered where I had seen her.
She was in my post on delaygram, featuring a group of 5 people, 2 boys and 3 girls.
And this girl was one of the 3 girls in that picture, second being unknown and the third being Claire.
Which means, she either knows me, or Claire…
Both are awful!
"Aaron? What are you doing here?"