Kian glared at the delinquent girl, Amara, who was holding a bat.
Besides the trio of Awakened he met in Zone A, Amara was the only other Awakened Kian knew.
She is unbearable.
Drawing his dagger, he faced his former enemy.
Kian faced many gangsters and other groups of people, and often came into conflict with Amara, who used her power to defeat others and maintain her superiority.
But I don't think it's that high level.
If Kian wasn't mistaken, Amara would be somewhere around level 6.
"Oh, don't tell me you're all confident now because of a little knife?" She scoffed as she approached.
"Come on up and find out, you slut."
It was a well-known truth that Kian would get beaten up whenever he met her, sometimes even losing his belongings.
But today will be different.
He now had the power to fight back.
"But do it like this, dead boy," Amara smiled as she stopped three steps away, "Leave everything you have, including your clothes, then I'll let you go."
"How about a better idea?" Kian suggested, "I'll just—"
Immediately, Kian advanced on her.
Surprised by Kian's speed, Amara's eyes widened as a fist connected with her cheek.
Stumbling, she fell to the ground, Kian already leaping towards her again.
Rolling, Amara narrowly dodged as Kian hit the ground beside her.
She swung her club, slashing towards Kian's head.
Gritting his teeth, Kian raised his arm in defense, waiting for the impact.
Come on, you crazy woman.
The baseball bat hit him squarely, making a dull thud.
Frowning, he stared at Amara, who was backing away with a shocked expression.
That… didn't hurt much?
Looking at his own arm, he quickly checked its status.
[HP: 361 / 365,7]
"Y-you—" Amara hesitated, her expression ugly as she pointed at him. "Aren't you too?"
At her question, a smile emerged from Kian as he replied,
"What's the matter, are you surprised?"
"How did a poor wretch like you manage to Awaken?"
"Oh, you know," Kian said, shrugging. "It's thanks to the sponsorship of your sweet little dogs."
A chuckle escaped Kian as Amara gritted her teeth.
Immediately, she swung her bat towards Kian.
Kian just raised his arm in defense again, taking the blow full on.
Moving forward quickly, his fist sliced through the air as he connected with a hook on Amara.
Stumbling, she fell to the ground again, spitting blood.
As I imagined…
Looking at his arm, he turned to Amara, who had barely taken 5 HP from him.
She's very weak. How many points does she have in Strength?
Furthermore, their speeds seemed to be evenly matched, which made him wonder how her stats were distributed.
Anyway, she doesn't strike me as a typical frontline class like me.
Suddenly, footsteps vibrated behind Kian, running towards him.
Oh, what an unlucky bastard.
Forming a grin, Kian jumped to the side as the other youth hit empty air.
Quickly, Kian punched the young man, who was nothing more than an ordinary civilian, in the face.
Staring at the poor guy lying on the ground, Kian just gave him a pitying look.
You have to be really stupid to want to face an awakened person.
Letting go of him, Kian looked into Amara's eyes, which burned with hatred, as he rubbed his chin.
"Ready for a second round, Miss Slut?" Kian scoffed.
Smiling, she shouldered her bat as she replied,
"Let's just leave it at that. No good will come of fighting."
"Oh, are we suddenly such cowards?"
"Don't push your luck, Kian," Amara growled, pointing at him, "unlike you, I didn't even draw my weapon, much less use my skills."
"Well, what can I say?" Shrugging, Kian said, "I haven't used my skill yet either."
It wasn't exactly a lie, Kian didn't really use his main skill, and he couldn't even if he wanted to, since it required someone's death.
But she doesn't know that mine is a passive.
What mattered was the message he wanted to convey.
Laughing, Amara turned away before speaking one last time,
"This isn't over yet, Kian. There will be a day when we settle this score." Leaving those words, she left.
Standing still, Kian watched her walk away, not trying to do anything to her.
Well, she's kind of right, though.
Amara hadn't really shown everything she had, unlike Kian.
He had no idea what her class was capable of, she was at least three levels above him, above all, she had a lot of money to have a good weapon.
Although, when we face each other next time, I will be much stronger.
With a smile of anticipation, Kian turned to the young man sitting on the floor beside him, looking at him with dread in his eyes.
"Now, where did we leave off?" Kian smiled menacingly.
***
In a large room with a large counter full of attendants, Kian waited in one of the chairs along with several other awakened people.
A large screen changed as the next password was called, Kian's turn being called closer and closer.
Let's see, I got 330 in my three days of hunting, and today I got another 535 credits.
After having paid a visit to the old 'friends', Kian managed to receive a generous 'donation' to help with your expenses.
And now, all that's left is to sell the Xerid cores.
At that moment, Kian's turn was called, leading him to one of the counters.
"The total amount will be 240 credits. Would you like to redeem them now?" The attendant's voice rang out after examining the cores Kian brought.
"Oh, yes, please."
240 just for the cores, huh? That's much better than Safe Harbor.
While there he sold a core for ten credits, in the Syndicate it was bought for sixteen.
"That place is really a rip-off. I'll never sell any cores there again." Kian muttered as he left the room.
Currently, Kian was in the great Hunting Syndicate.
While the ARA was responsible for regulation and legislation, it was the Syndicate that managed the majority of Awakened trade and transactions.
The place itself was similar to a large shopping mall, divided into three different floors.
Several Awakened wandered the area, some dressed in full armor, others carrying their equipment, while some, like Kian, dressed casually.
"So if we deduct the 600 credits from the ticket, I now have 505 to spend, huh?" Adjusting his backpack, Kian took an elevator to the third floor.
Maybe if he pushed his debts a bit, he could spend up to 800 credits.
Man, what a huge place.
The third floor was occupied by a single closed store in a circular shape, with the elevators in the center.
A small mural stood in front of the elevators, separating the store into different areas, one for each quality and price of equipment.
The store was packed with people, while several display cases were placed throughout. Each display contained a piece of equipment on display, along with a paper describing it.
"Makes me wonder if anyone has ever managed to steal a gun and use it to escape," Kian muttered as he approached an exhibit.
Since the equipment only gave the bonus on contact, or at least very close, it was only possible to examine the weapon through the display case.
Man, look at that sword.
Granting +27 STR, +22 AGI, and +24 RES along with a skill, it was a long, curved crimson blade, held atop a small podium.
Drooling behind the glass, Kian's gaze unconsciously drifted to the displayed price.
16,000??? SON OF A—
Kian hurried away with a pale expression, fearing that just being near it would make him poorer.
He couldn't even imagine what it would be like to have such a weapon.
Sixteen thousand, cutting, piercing, getting dirty with blood…
Just the thought of having so much money stained with Xerid's remains made him dizzy.
Moving to the Gray tier equipment area, Kian spotted several pieces 'at his level'.
But what should I buy?
Sweeping through the thousands of booths, there was a huge variety of different weapons available.
Examining a traditional sword in a display case, Kian thought about what he wanted in a weapon.
Something big, for sure.
Having only used a dagger so far, Kian felt the lack of range was inconvenient, as he had to risk himself several times to attack.
Something bigger would certainly help him maintain control and distance.
"But I also want something agile and fast…" he muttered as he stared at a large axe.
Shaking his head, Kian continued to examine display case after display case, looking for something that might fit him.
Since Kian would likely be using this weapon for the longest time, it was inevitable that his fighting style would define and improve around it.
It would be terrible if, later on, he suffered because something didn't suit him well and he had to buy something else.
Suddenly, Kian's footsteps stopped in front of a large exhibition.
Looking back now, it wasn't bad. No, I really enjoyed it.
In front of him stood a long, classic spear. It was seven feet long, with a metal handle and a long blade at the tip.
It only offered +6 AGI and +5 STR and no skills, yet—
"I really enjoyed it," Kian said, smiling.