[295] 6. A Massive Secret (4)
Amy, who'd been hurt because Shirone hadn't given her any gold coins, suddenly saw a school friend and felt a bit better. "I want to look at some weapons. Mind if I browse?"
Nade smiled kindly and encouraged her. "Sure, go ahead. We have a few things to look through. By the way, people are still wandering about in this weather. I was thinking of closing early—rain puts me in a gloomy mood."
Amy put her hands behind her back and examined the weapons.
The basics were all here. Above all, she was relieved there were no mage items. If there had been magic goods, insisting on not buying with someone else's money would have been ridiculous, so she felt more at ease.
After scanning the displays, Amy noticed a weapon hung on the wall inside a glass case. "Huh? What's this?"
The paper beneath the case read .
Nade brightened with pride. "Oh, that's our shop's pride. It makes a thunderclap when you swing it. Pretty cool, right? I tried it once—the impact is enormous. Any monster would be startled and run away!"
On the carriage to Galliant, Rian had once told Armin an anecdote from Shirone's childhood. He'd succeeded at the Thunder Strike at twelve, and apparently it was a cherished memory.
Amy checked the price tag and raised her eyes in disbelief. "5.9 billion gold?"
"Hahaha! Of course. It's our pride! You'd need something like that to get your hands on it."
Armin came up behind Amy. "Nobody could buy that by normal means. I don't know how this world's economy works, but even if Reina and I pooled our money we'd only have about seventeen gold. Withdrawing 5.9 billion would be impossible even for parents."
Amy understood. Still, curiosity lingered, and she stroked her chin. "Hmm—what if a tomb raider tried to loot it?"
"That might be possible. It's saturated with Shirone's intense thoughts, so converting it into an object would be easy. Money could be acquired illegally or stolen. But if I were a tomb raider, I wouldn't take this."
"Because it's not really necessary," Amy finished.
Armin nodded. "Yes. Objects gain value the more they break common sense. A weapon that merely makes thunder isn't that special—you just need to succeed at a Thunder Strike. Most eleventh-tier items are like that. This is the surface layer; there's no room for people's deepest desires to show. So is better interpreted as a precious memory than as a desire."
Amy understood how objects worked. She also realized how despicable Arius was. This world belonged to Shirone. No matter how others viewed it, those memories were his most precious things. Arius, who would murder to loot them, had to be stopped.
Armin walked to the window, looked outside, and said, "Anyway, as law-abiding citizens we don't need to be greedy. If we won't loot it, it's just something in a dream. No need to be picky—arm yourselves only enough for basic self-defense."
Amy tilted her head. "Self-defense? Aren't we choosing equipment to deal with Zion and Arius? For that, perfect armament might not be enough."
"I'll explain outside. Just pick something," Armin said without moving from the window.
Reina propped her chin on her hand and thought. The Ozent family revered the sword; it was the weapon she felt most confident with. "Do you happen to sell bows here?"
A smile spread across Armin's face. "Good choice."
Outside it was too dark to distinguish shapes. A ranged weapon would be far more useful than a melee one. With her hearing, her accuracy with a bow would be even better.
Reina picked up the bow Nade recommended and inspected it. The draw was taut and the back's curve was true. When learning martial arts she had been taught that the bow introduced variables; coming from a martial family that hunted often, her fundamentals were solid.
"I like it. I'll take this. Also a quiver and arrows."
"All right. I'll give you a quality set. Wait here."
While Nade rummaged in the stockroom, Reina turned to Amy. "No mage weapons here. Want to try another place?"
"It's fine. Mages don't really need tools." Amy summoned a Jack O'Lantern to hover beside her face. "And I have the weapon Shirone bought me."
As soon as she said it she regretted it—emphasizing that Shirone had bought it only made her feel worse. But the words were already out, so she turned away as if unaware.
Armin leaned against the windowframe, arms folded. 'Jack O'Lantern—that's ancient magic. Hard to find.' He'd been to Heaven on a mission before and had a rough idea of prices: ancient magic could be bought with elixirs, and a Jack O'Lantern would cost at least a White Elixir. Shirone and Amy must be quite close. Yet no withdrawal had been allowed, and Amy's last, resentful remark made things risky in the mental world. 'Better to give a warning in advance.'
Just then Nade came back with two quivers of twenty arrows each. When asked the price, he said four gold.
Amy leaned in and whispered to Armin, "Isn't that too expensive? One bow set costs half your trust rating, Armin."
"It is pricey. But it's probably top-tier. It might even have extra effects. The 'master of this world' wouldn't be petty and con people. Of course Nade might be the sort to scam, but since he was entrusted with , he seems like a friendly projector."
Armin used that roundabout phrase—'the master of this world'—because Nade was listening. After their experience at the inn, Amy understood how sensitive projectors were to keywords and nodded.
"Yes. Nade wouldn't hand over low-quality goods carelessly."
Reina paid the four gold. If they met the master of this world, money would be irrelevant anyway.
She slung one quiver over her back and strapped the other to her thigh. She placed three arrows between her fingers, nocked one, and readied herself.
Amy floated the Jack O'Lantern and turned to Armin. Just the three of them—but their spirits felt like an army before an advance.
"Everyone ready? We're going to meet the 'master of this world' now." Reina asked.
"But where do we start looking?" Amy asked.
"No need to go far. He's everywhere, after all."
Armin looked up at where Nade stood. Amy and Reina stepped aside to make a path.
"Do you know where Shirone is?"
Amy flinched. It hadn't been a disaster, but she never wanted that kind of focused attention again.
As expected, Nade stared at Armin without blinking. Because he was a complex projector, he didn't feign ignorance like the innkeeper had. "Why are you looking for Shirone?"
Armin's mouth tilted into a smile. This weapon shop clearly concentrated a lot of Shirone's impressions. 'Then I can't let this chance pass.'
Armin strengthened his keyword. "Shirone is going to die soon. We're here to help him before that happens."
Amy swallowed and waited for Nade's reaction. How would Shirone's consciousness accept Armin's words?
Nade stared at Armin expressionless. Then, in a voice unlike before, he warned, "Leave. This place is not yours."
Armin realized he was connected to Shirone's avatar and pressed on. "A refusal? Shirone, think again. You should accept our help. Tell us where you are."
A strange sign appeared in Nade's silent form. His pupils vanished, his eyes became black caverns, and his whole body began to darken.
"Tch! Failed?"
Armin backed away in a hurry. "What's happening? What on earth is that?"
"Now it begins! Get out!"
Armin shoved the door with his shoulder and Reina followed, bow already drawn. Amy glanced back one last time.
The Nade she knew was gone. A black shadow lunged in. Her heart dropped as she ran outside—more of the same things were surging in from every direction.
Amy instantly cast Shining. Light burst forth and the falling raindrops showed up crisply.
Shadows stood just inside the curtain of rain.
They had human shapes, but their waists were elongated and their arms were too long.
The most grotesque feature was their faces: thin lines of light spiraled like whirlpools being sucked into an abyss.
"Armin. What are those…?"
"Egoists."
Amy tilted her head. "Egoists?"
"Don't be fooled by appearances. Their forms are unpredictable."
"Shiooooo!"
When an Egoist attacked, Armin cast Flicker and slipped out of the encirclement. People inside the building bolted out and immediately changed, pursuing him.
Armin cast Flicker repeatedly. The forms vanished and only flashing shockwaves cut across the air, tracing his path.
Meanwhile, Reina, ready for battle, placed three arrows between her fingers and fired in an instant.
An Egoist's body popped and collapsed to the ground. It was a phenomenon that couldn't happen in reality.
When one fell, the Egoists quickly adapted. When Reina shot, they'd twist their waists like a thread to dodge. But this time Amy's Fire Strike burned a head clean through.
Even while burning, the Egoists attacked relentlessly. Contrary to expectations that they'd be physically weak, their strength was considerable—compared to real monsters they'd be at least tier three.
Reina grew more comfortable with the bow. Ignoring the rain, she tracked enemy sounds and led her shots; the arrows seemed to curve and struck true.
"Shiooooo!"
While the Armin–Reina duo fought efficiently, Amy was engaged separately with a single Egoist—the strongest among them, the one that had taken Nade's form from the weapon shop.
Nade's Egoist shifted into tactical shapes and pressed Amy. It sprouted four arms that jabbed like awls, then stretched its waist like a soft-bodied creature and danced through a rapid volley of Fire Strikes.
The number of Egoists pouring in swelled; shadows rippled everywhere. Armin's Flicker was useless if he left the battlefield, so they couldn't stall further.
Amy cast a Fire Wall to separate friend and foe. Focusing, the wall leapt twice as high and burned the Egoists on the front line.
Nade's Egoist looked back at the scorched place, stopped attacking, and fixed its gaze on Amy. Amy remembered hearing Shirone's voice in the shop and shouted, "Shirone! It's me! Amy!"
The Egoist didn't answer. But it clearly understood. Its head tilted slightly—about forty-five degrees.