Night Market [1]
It was like that for another month. The sandstorm was a bit of a special circumstance, but it wasn't the last time Gio used the environment to challenge himself.
His goal was to fight until he got used to his body while making money in the process. Naturally, he didn't leave the Wasteland until he was satisfied.
He lived the nomadic life of a large portion of the 6th Stratum's population. To say that he grew was wrong, but he became far more familiar with his current strengths and weaknesses. Rather than waiting to find out about his limits in a truly vital situation, he preferred to do it while he had control.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
His location was much more arid and the ground was made of cracked stone rather than sand. He had much more grip, which meant he could fight with even more ease.
He was no longer standing against a single beast. There were three Tier 1 coyote beasts encircling him with their teeth bared. Gio had his energy sword in his left hand and his pistol in his right. He was just waiting for the moment they decided to strike.
Awooo–!
With a howl, one of the three approached from behind and pounced at his back. Immediately, he dodged to the side and allowed it to pass him. The beast slashed its claws out, but it was blocked by a blade of energy that burned through its paw.
Awoo–!
As it howled in pain, its two companions rushed together from both sides. Gio's eyes swung in their direction, taking in their trajectories.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
He fired three shots at the beast on the right. None of them hit the target, but the projectiles halted its advance. The three beasts no longer had Gio cornered, and only one of them was still in the process of attacking.
Its fate would not be anything good.
The gun in his right hand was put back into its holster as he gripped his sword.
He planted his foot in the ground and pushed himself forward, meeting the coyote directly.
Bang!
Its claws slashed into the energy sword. Sparks flew in every direction as the hard material of its nails met the heated blade, but those claws didn't break easily.
That was the thing about mutated beasts. They, along with monsters, used Aether as a part of their body.
The superheated sword could stand against the claws of a Tier 1 beast, but, at the end of the day, it was only meant to kill Tier 1 beasts.
It had the same killing power as those claws did.
The difference was in the skill of the wielders.
Gio put strength into his arms and pushed his sword to the side, throwing the coyote in the same trajectory. It stretched its body in the air and landed on the ground, staying low and charging towards his leg.
He stepped back, awaiting its attack, when the hairs on the back of his neck stood up. Without hesitation, he followed his core instinct, and whipped around, wildly swinging his blade.
Bang!
He was sent stumbling several steps as he barely whacked the flat of the blade against the head of a second coyote. He swiveled his eyes around to find the third before putting his attention back on the one he was fighting.
The third coyote was limping on three legs as the bottom of its paw had been burnt. It wouldn't be an immediate threat, at least.
The other two, however, were very much still a problem.
GRR–!
Gio barely heard the sound before he felt the bite on his leg. It didn't penetrate his armor, but that didn't mean he was fine. The moment the coyote realized it had a grip on him, it thrashed its head, attempting to rip his leg from his body.
It didn't understand that being this close was already fatal.
Gio hurriedly pulled his gun and fired several shots.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
The coyote was moving its head wildly, but its body remained stationary, keeping it properly grounded. That made it an easy target for Gio.
All four shots pierced through the coyote's skin. At least one hit a bone, judging by the resounding crack he heard. The beast's grip on his leg weakened slightly as it instinctively whimpered in pain, but it soon realized that it was already dying.
Its grip tightened again. At the same time, the coyote that was thrown away approached.
Gio couldn't move without emptying his gun into the coyote on his leg, but he was near his last magazine. He didn't have the freedom to do that.
With his eyes hardened, he twisted his upper body impossibly, slamming his sword downward.
His timing couldn't have been more perfect, The blade landed directly between the eyes of the approaching beast, searing through its skin. Gio pulled the sword, completing the slash before throwing it at its neck, aiming to behead it in a single clean strike.
The blade cut into the beast's neck, but didn't make it all the way through. Nevertheless, it was more than enough to be called good damage.
As he pulled the sword out of the coyote's neck, he looked at the one bleeding out while grabbing his leg. It would die on its own soon enough, but he couldn't let it keep hold of his leg for much longer.
Once again, he stabbed his sword down, cutting into the coyote's neck. It didn't have the strength to avoid it even if it knew death was coming.
This time, the cut was clean. The coyote's head was separated from its body. The teeth attached to that severed head lost their power, leaving it powerless to save itself from falling to the ground.
"Haa…haa…"
There were two coyotes left. One would die with a light tap, and the other was already frightened after realizing that it didn't have the advantage.
Unfortunately, it couldn't run.
Bang!
Before it could make that decision, a bullet hit its front leg, immobilizing it.
The battle wasn't technically over, but Gio had already won.
'It's not good enough.'
Fighting off three Tier 1 beasts on his own with only battle sense and the most basic weaponry was something anyone else would consider impressive, but Gio didn't think the same.
'If I wasn't wearing armor, my leg would be shredded.'
In most cases, Sequencers would be in the field with armor on, but there were countless cases where the enemies they encountered had power beyond what their armor could handle.
He couldn't put all of his trust into external factors. Until he was able to move fast enough to respond to everything around him, he couldn't be considered strong enough.
'Still, at the level of a thirteen-year-old body…'
By others' standards, he was already strong enough. The ordinary child in the Upper Strata began training with Sequences when they turned 15 or 16. The training they received beforehand put them on a level where with physical strength alone, they could escape danger at the very least.
He was certainly above that level.
'If I want to start working on an Aether Core…this is decent, but it isn't the best possible state I could be in.'
Gio moved swiftly and used his remaining six bullets to kill the last two beasts. He did have one more magazine left, but he couldn't use that unless he found himself in an emergency situation.
Looking back at his sword, he noticed the blade vibrating slightly as if it was going to fizzle out.
'I need to buy more Aether Shards. It's also a good time to visit the black market again, so heading back to Gastle is the best plan.'
The sword wasn't an ordinary cold weapon. Well, "cold" weapons didn't exist anymore. The old weapons that were used in hand-to-hand had been enhanced to be useful against beasts as well.
The sword in Gio's hand was the most basic example, as it was still an armament meant for the unevolved. Weapons made for Sequencers could even channel the energy of their Gene Sequences to enhance and diversify their abilities.
The base model didn't have special features like that. It merely used metal as a medium to create a superheated blade of Aether. Naturally, it needed an energy source.
Aether Shards were that source. They, simply put, were compressed gems of pure Aetheric energy that functioned as batteries. They were sold everywhere as common resources, but if they weren't distributed by the governing entities of the world, their quality was naturally much, much worse. The method for producing perfect Aether Shards was a tightly kept secret that only a few people and companies knew.
Nevertheless, whether they were official shards that had been stolen or makeshift shards, they could be found at the black market.
In the Wasteland, there was no better place to go for any of one's material desires.