A win-win

Since they were going on what they called "an outing," and the way Mr. Sable was talking made it sound like he wasn't even sure they'd all make it back, Riven wanted to do one last thing—something for Joey.

"Why don't you let the rest of us get our own weapons?" Harkel asked.

"I mean, you have 2,000 units yourself, don't you? Convert them into system points and buy your own weapon," Riven said as he took the greatsword outside and handed it to Leo. Leo asked if he could come in yet, but Riven denied him, and Leo sat back down against the wall.

When Riven reentered the room, he saw all of them equipped with a level three beast weapon.

Wren had a spear, Harkel a longsword, Jordan a sword, Joey a wand, and Tessa a shield. Most likely, all of them gave around the same stats as Riven's gauntlet, with some differences and probably their own unique abilities.

"Okay… I have an idea how we're going to sell these weapons. Does anyone still have 1,000 system points left?" he asked.

They all raised their hands. Each had only bought a level three weapon, meaning they still had at least 1,000 points remaining.

"Good," Riven said.

Unlike everyone else's system, Riven's let him see everyone's combined point total. He then used 2,000 points to buy two cloaks called Phantom Cowl. When he pulled one out and put it on, everyone could immediately tell—they couldn't see his face anymore.

"Here's the plan. Me and Leo will be going to the city with these cloaks. Thanks to Damien's teleportation evolution, I should be able to get us there while staying relatively unnoticed."

"Okay, yes, but Riven… why Leo?" Joey asked.

"Well, I'll need a guard. And when people see a big guy with a giant greatsword, they'll think twice before trying anything," Riven replied.

Riven then walked out of the blue training room. As he did, he tossed Leo the second cloak.

"Look, not to be mean or anything, but I need you to do something. And it requires one thing: no questions. Don't ask me anything, and don't question anything that goes on over the next five hours, okay? If you do that, and everything goes to plan, I'll get you an armor set to go with that greatsword."

Leo looked at Riven strangely. Then Riven pulled back his hood to reveal his face briefly and told Leo all he needed to know. Leo nodded and put on the cloak. Before they could leave, Riven told him to place his hand on his back.

Leo thought it was weird at first, but when he did, both of them suddenly appeared at the city entrance.

"Teleportation? But I thought he had a gravity evolution…" Leo thought.

"That's asking questions," Riven said telepathically.

Leo was shocked but stopped himself from saying anything more. They wandered through various venues, checking the crowds until they found an empty spot.

"Okay," Riven thought. "I need you to get behind me and just look tough with that greatsword."

Leo nodded. As Riven sat down, he dug into his cloak and pulled out a cover, then laid out the seven weapons on the ground. Leo stood behind him, arms folded, leaning against the wall.

An hour passed before anyone showed up. Eventually, a well-dressed boy approached their stall. Judging by his accessories, he was somewhat wealthy. He examined the assortment of weapons and pulled out a device to scan them. His eyes widened in surprise.

"These are actual beast weapons… not fakes. How much are you selling them for?" the boy asked.

"The level one weapons are all going for 600 units, while the level twos are going for 1,000 units," Riven said in a deep, mysterious voice.

"Okay. I'll buy them," the boy replied, holding out his card.

Riven swiped his own card over it, and the boy tapped a few things. Riven watched as 5,000 units entered his personal account, which Wren had helped him set up.

He nodded at Leo, who wrapped the weapons in the blanket and handed it over to the boy. The boy walked off.

"This is good," Riven thought. "That guy will probably tell his friends, and they'll come looking for us."

Riven opened his system and converted the units into system points. Since Leo was now a bonded party member, he could see the system as well. But when Leo started to speak, Riven reminded him of the deal—no questions.

"I get that you don't want me asking questions," Leo said through the telepathic link, "but if I'm looking at this right, you could sell those level three weapons. And sure, you don't know me or any of the people you're selling to… but you have to realize, we're talking about human lives. The way Mr. Sable put it, some people could die."

Riven stopped himself from buying anything. Leo's words hit hard. He'd been so focused on strategy that he had overlooked the human cost. If not for Leo, he would've made a huge mistake—some of his classmates, maybe even more people from the school, might've died. Just because he didn't know them didn't mean their lives weren't worth saving.

"Hey Leo… thanks for making me realize what I was doing wrong," Riven said.

"No problem. Just make sure you protect my sister, alright?" Leo replied.

Riven nodded.

He pulled another small blanket from his cloak, laid it on the ground, and placed more weapons on it. After ten minutes, five people showed up—a mix of boys and girls. They scanned the weapons and, like the boy before them, were surprised.

"How much are the level three weapons?" one girl asked.

"2,000 units," Riven replied.

"That low?" a boy commented.

They all picked up the three level threes and two level twos and walked off, excited.

"Okay, last batch of the night," Riven said, counting 6,600 units earned.

He converted half of that into system points and used it to buy three more level three weapons.

Not long after, another group of five showed up. Riven immediately recognized them—Nico, Jude, Skye, Luka, and the healing girl Riven had copied from to help Joey. She turned out to be Luka's sister.

After seeing how well they worked together, Nico had asked the other three to form a group with her. Luka agreed only on the condition that his sister could join too.

"Nico…" Riven thought.

"Awww, your girlfriend's here," Harkel teased through the link, his voice childish.

Riven could even hear Leo chuckling behind him but quickly stifling it as the group approached.

"I heard you were selling level three weapons. Is that true?" Nico asked.

Riven nodded.

She scanned the weapons with her device.

"Good," she said.

"How much are you selling them for?" Jude asked.

"Level one weapons cost 600 units, level two cost 1,000 units, and level three cost 2,000 units," Riven answered.

Nico placed her hand on her chin, clearly thinking.

"We'll buy all of them," she said.

Luka hesitated. "Is that really a good idea?"

"Most of our classmates probably won't be able to buy any weapons if people keep buying them up. The stores will likely raise prices to make bigger profits. We can't let people die just because they couldn't afford a weapon." Jude responded

Nico nodded. "You're right. We're not just buying these for ourselves. We're going to make sure they get into the hands of people who actually need them."

Riven felt a pang of guilt. He had been making a profit off people who only wanted to survive the outing. Before Leo could wrap the weapons, Riven stopped him. He turned away, pulled out a wand, and when he turned back, placed it with the rest.

"Here. Take this one on the house. It's a level four wand. Make good use of it."

Leo then wrapped up the weapons and handed them to the group.

Nico started to say thank you, but before she could finish, the two vanished.

They teleported back to Wren's training room. Riven tossed his card to Wren.

"That should have 6,700 units on it. Make sure it gets to Joey's mom."

Wren nodded and walked away while dialing her phone.

"I'm sorry I don't have enough to get you that armor set," Riven said to Leo. "But I'll make it up to you."

Before Leo could respond, they heard soft sobbing.

"Thank you," Joey whispered, crying on the floor. "Thank you."

Tessa hugged him and led him outside to get some air.

"When did those two get close?" Harkel wondered silently. But nobody heard—Riven had turned off both the telepathic and system links.

He smiled as Joey and Tessa walked off together. Then, with the last 1,000 system points he had, Riven purchased a potion filled with a white liquid and handed it to Leo.

"Before you drink that, I have to do something first."

He transferred the pink-haired man's evolution to Leo, who was already level 7. Riven felt they might need it on this outing.

"Okay. Now drink it."

Leo didn't ask any questions—if Riven wanted to hurt him, he wouldn't have given him the greatsword.

When Leo drank the potion, everyone could feel the air around him change.

In that moment, everyone in the room could tell—

Leo had awakened.