33) Shopping Spree

[Infinity shield- a shield made of unknown energy that absorbs strikes. The shield will hover around the owner and move to intercept attacks. The shield slowly replenishes itself]

After last night's experiments, the shield finally worked as intended and when met with an attack it did not explode. The principle behind it was that it absorbs the energy of the attack and it transforms it into its own energy, therefore replenishing itself. That is why the doctor had named it infinity shield because technically it is infinite. He now had protection and his daggers were really powerful but he was still lacking in long-ranged attacks. Compared to his stats, he still had the basic flint pistols that didn't have a high damage output. He was also lacking spells.

So, he went to the Adventurer's guild to turn in the Malachite grass quest and the lab assistant. Even though the doctor had given him a thousand gold coins, he still needed to turn the quest in, otherwise, he would be charged a cancelation fee. To his surprise, it turned out that the doctor quest paid 20 gold coins for the hour, and he had spent more than 12 hours inside the lab so he got around 300 gold coins more when he left the Adventurer's guild.

He had no plans now but to wait for the night to come in order to go into the Underground Market. It had been more than a week since he last saw Golak and he was in dire need of new equipment. Plus, he could now spend lots of money. So he went to the restaurant he had been frequenting. It was cheap and the food was surprisingly good. He didn't need to eat because due to his affinity he was immune to hunger just like someone with poison affinity was immune to poison but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy eating, after all, he had a food affinity.

And so, the day passed in the blink of an eye. Before he realized he was laying down on his bead and putting the dream realm bead in between his eyebrows. He felt his body shrink and shrink until it shot upwards. He opened his eyes and he was before the cave he appeared before. He was still not used to the sensation of going into the dream realm as it had only been his second time but the excitement quickly made him forget.

He walked to where he had met Golak the first time and just as expected his shop was void of customers even when it was filled with equipment. Apparently, this world was not free of racism either.

"Golak! I am here! I need new equipment!" -he shouted excitedly. As he had lived most of his life like a spoiled kid, he loved spending money.

"Hello, sir! Are you looking for new equipment? I had been starting to think you would not come back to my shop" -said Golak as his head popped from behind a chest plate.

"Haha of course I would come back, you have the most beautiful weapons of the entire market and I only want to buy these types of weapons. They are also very powerful, I totally loved my daggers." -Ryker said.

"Oh I see I see, thank you so much, sir, it means so much to me that someone believes in my ability. Now, what type of weapon are you looking for sir, and if I may ask, what kind of budget do you have this time?" -he wanted to sell all of his stuff before his execution but he would also not give it for free, after all, it was his precious work.

"Well, I have a little over a thousand gold coins and I was thinking of buying a new long-range weapon and if you have them I would love to buy some spell crystals from you too." -Ryker said with a tinge of pride on his voice. He knew a thousand gold coins were no small matter.

And as he expected, Golak's eyes bulged out of his head when he heard that Ryker was willing to spend that amount of money on his shop. He quickly regained his composure as to not lose business.

"Yes sir, so, do you like precise weapons? If you do not have the best aim, a crossbow is always an option, I have some that had an aiming guide, the only downside is they take some time to recharge. If you have good aim could I recommend some laser guns? They are not as powerful as the ones from the Kingdom of Tomorrow but they shoot faster. Or if you want a more personal approach when killing enemies, I also have a pair of flying knives. I also have bows, slingshots, boomerangs, or if you want to go undercover I also have needles. Oh I am so sorry sir but I have not asked about your affinity, would it be possible for you to let me know? That way I could help you get the perfect weapon for you." -he knew it was risky asking someone about their affinity but he wanted to give Ryker the best experience possible.

"I don't mind, I have a food affinity, I know it is not the best for combat so that is why I am looking for powerful weapons. And also, stop calling me sir Golak, we are friends, you can call me Ryker or Ry for short"

"A food affinity huh? I see why you need a weapon there. Alright but what about defensive measures Ry? I also have shields and armor-"

"Oh do not worry about that haha, I have this." -as he said that he flicked his arm and the green translucent shield appeared.

"Oh my god! I have never seen this type of shield before, what is it made of? How does it work? Where did you get it?" -he got carried away but he stopped himself before offending Ryker- "I am so sorry Ry I just got carried away when faced with such an unknown thing."

"Haha it's alright Golak, it was given to me by Dr. Echo or well more like by Dr. Echo's wife" -he laughed shyly when recalling the interaction between the two dwarves.

"Did you say, Dr. Echo??? As in from the Kingdom of Tomorrow???'" -Golak did not expect Ryker to know such an influential figure. He always thought that Ryker was just a commoner.

"So the old man is that famous huh? Well do not worry about my defense, I think I got it covered but I would like to buy different types of weapons. So I need something powerful that could blast my enemies to pieces, while also a more rapid shooting weapon to defend while the big one charges, and I like the needles you mentioned. I don't know about needles but definitely something for assassinations. And what were those flying knives you mentioned?" -as every teenager, Ryker wanted to look cool white fighting, and when he imagined himself with a pair of flying knives his eyes shone.

"I have them right here Ry." -said Golak as he grabbed a wooden box the size of an arm from one of the shelves.

When he opened it there was a pair of black double-bladed daggers attached to an almost invisible chain. It was so thin and small that Ryker doubted it would resist. The knives had a gold outline to them.

"The knives are made out of Somber Iron while the chain is made out of Corrupt Gold. It is able to resist even a Tier 6 spell so it will not break at all. The Somber Iron also has a draining effect. When it cuts an enemy it will steal a small amount of mana and send it to you through the chain. They are black in order for them to go unnoticed at night and they have the gold outline for intimidation purposes, when it glows under the moonlight at high speeds it will produce fear in your enemies." -even when Golak seemed like a very gentle giant, after being imprisoned for a long time he developed a little wicked side.

"Oh my god, they are beautiful. How much?"

"250 gold coins for normal people but for my friends, 200."

"Well add it to my cart haha I will definitely take them but I also need a destructive weapon and a fast-paced one."

"Of course, of course, this way." -said Golak as he put the box with the flying knives to the side and walked more into the small stand. Turned out that it was only small for the onlookers and it actually was a full-on shop with a forge and everything.

And so, a friendship between Ryker and Golak blossomed. Their love for weapons being something that united them even when they were in two opposite corners of the world.