Amy was still a little upset that Shirone hadn't given her any gold coins. But her mood improved a bit when she saw her school friend.
"I'd like to look at some weapons. Is it okay if we look around?" Amy asked.
The shopkeeper, Neid, gave them a friendly smile. "Sure, go ahead! Look at anything you want. Business is slow in this rainy weather anyway. The rain was putting me in a bad mood, so I was thinking about closing early."
Amy put her hands behind her back and started looking at all the weapons on the shelves. She already had her basic gear. She was also relieved that she didn't see any magic wizard equipment. If there had been a magic item she liked, she would have felt bad insisting that Shirone shouldn't buy things for her with his money. So, it was more comfortable this way.
As she looked around, Amy spotted a special weapon hanging on the wall inside a glass case.
"Huh? What's this?" she wondered.
A small piece of paper under the case had a name written on it: "First Thunderstrike."
Neid smiled proudly. "Ah, that is the greatest treasure in my shop! When you swing it, it explodes with a thunderous boom! Isn't that amazing? I tried it once, and the power was incredible! Any monster would be so surprised it would run away!"
Amy then remembered a story she had heard. On the carriage ride to Galliant, Rian, the sword, had told her about Shirone's childhood. He said that Shirone had successfully performed his first "Thunderstrike" magic when he was only 12 years old. This ax must be a memory of that special moment.
Amy looked for the price tag. Her eyes went wide with shock when she found it.
"F-five point nine billion gold?!" she stammered.
Neid laughed. "Ha ha ha! Of course! It's the pride of my shop! You'd have to save for a lifetime to afford that."
Armin walked up behind Amy. "It seems like this is something no one could ever buy normally. I don't know exactly how money works in this world, but even if Reina and I combined all our gold, we only have 17 pieces. Getting 5.9 billion would be impossible, even for my parents."
Amy understood it was too expensive. But she still felt curious, so she rubbed her chin and asked, "Hmm, what if a grave robber tried to steal it?"
"Maybe they could," Armin said. "Since this object holds Shirone's strong memories, a robber could try to turn it into a physical object to steal. They would collect the money or steal it in some illegal way. But if I were a grave robber, I wouldn't steal this."
"Why not?" Amy asked.
"Because there's no real need for it," Armin explained.
Armin nodded in agreement. "Yes. Objects that break the rules of nature are more valuable. An ax that just makes a thunder sound isn't that unusual. Shirone succeeded in learning Thunderstrike, after all. Most things on this 11th level are probably like this. Since this is the surface layer of his mind, it shows his precious memories, not his greedy desires. So, we should see this
Now Amy understood how objects worked in this spiritual world. She also realized what a terrible person Arius was. This whole world was a part of Shirone's spirit. No matter what anyone else thought, it was the most precious thing to him. Arius, who was willing to kill Shirone to steal this world, had to be stopped.
Armin walked to the window and looked outside at the rain. "Anyway, as people who follow the rules, we don't need to be greedy. If you're not going to dig up and steal his spirit, this is just a wonderful dream. You don't have to pick the hardest or best weapon. Just arm yourself with what you need for self-defense."
Amy tilted her head, confused. "For self-defense? I thought we were getting weapons to fight Zion and Arius? For that, even being fully armed might not be enough."
Armin didn't turn from the window. "I'll explain outside. Just choose your weapons for now."
Reina put her chin in her hand, thinking. Her family, the Ogent family, respected the sword. The weapon she was most confident with was also the sword.
But then she asked Neid, "Do you sell bows here?"
A smile spread across Armin's lips. "A good choice," he said.
It was so dark and rainy outside that you could barely see. In a situation like that, a weapon you can shoot from far away is more useful than one you have to get close to use. Plus, with Reina's excellent hearing, her accuracy with a bow would be very high.
Reina took the bow that Neid picked out for her and tested it. The bow's tension was strong, and the curve of the wood was perfect.
When she had learned martial arts, she was taught that a bow is a weapon that can change any situation. Also, since her family often went hunting, her basic skills with a bow were very solid.
"I like this one. I'll take it," Reina said. "I'll also need a quiver for my arrows, please."
"Good choice. I'll get you a high-quality one. Wait here," Neid said and went to a storage room behind the counter.
While Neid was gone, Reina turned to Amy. "There aren't any magic weapons here. Should we go to another shop?"
"It's okay," Amy replied. "Magic tools aren't the most important thing for a wizard like me."
Then, with a flick of her wrist, Amy summoned a glowing Jack O'Lantern next to her face. The fiery little pumpkin bobbed in the air.
"Besides," Amy added, "I also have this weapon that Shirone bought for me."
As soon as the words left her mouth, Amy felt a little regret. Pointing out that Shirone had bought it for her only made her miss him more and feel a little sad. But since she had already said it, she just acted like it was no big deal.
Armin, who was leaning against the window with his arms crossed, thought to himself, 'A Jack O'Lantern... That's ancient magic. She has something that is very hard to find.'
Because Armin had been to the heavenly realms on a mission, he knew how valuable such magic was. Ancient magic like that could usually only be obtained by trading a very powerful potion called an elixir. For a Jack O'Lantern, you would need to trade a white elixir, which is extremely rare.
'Shirone and Amy must be very close,' Armin thought.
But the magic wasn't working to wake Shirone up. And Amy's last comment showed how much she missed him.
'Hmm, so that's how it is,' Armin realized. This might even be dangerous. In fact, in this spiritual world, this feeling of sadness could be their biggest problem.
'It's better to say something about this soon,' Armin decided.
Just then, Neid returned with two quivers, each holding twenty arrows. When Reina asked how much for everything, he said it would cost 4 gold.
Amy walked over to Armin and whispered, "Isn't that too expensive? A bow and arrows cost half of the money Armin entrusted to you!"
"It is expensive," Armin whispered back. "But it must be top-notch quality. Maybe the bow has other special abilities, too. The 'lord of this world' isn't the type of person to cheat others. Of course, the boy named Neid might normally be a cheater, but the fact that he is guarding the
Armin called Shirone the 'lord of this world' because Neid was listening nearby. Having learned at the inn how sensitive these dream-people are to certain words, Amy understood right away and nodded.
"Yes," Amy agreed. "Neid doesn't seem like the kind of person who would sell us bad goods."
Reina paid the 4 gold. After all, once they found the owner of this world—Shirone—they wouldn't need money anymore.
Reina put one quiver on her back and attached the other to her thigh. To prepare, she placed three arrows between the fingers of her bow hand and rested them against the bow's frame.
Amy, with her Jack O'Lantern floating beside her, looked back at Armin. There were only two of them ready to fight, but they felt as brave as a whole army.
"Are you ready?" Armin asked. "From now on, we are going to meet the 'lord of this world'."
Reina asked, "But where do we find him?"
"We don't have to go far," Armin replied. "After all, he is everywhere in this world."
Armin then looked straight at where Neid was standing. Amy and Reina moved to the left and right to clear a path.
"Do you know where Shirone is?" Armin asked Neid directly.
Amy was startled. It wasn't a huge deal, but she didn't want a repeat of what happened at the inn, where everyone stared at them.
Sure enough, Neid stared back at Armin without blinking. But because he was a more complex part of Shirone's mind, he wasn't as clueless as the innkeeper had been.
"Why are you looking for Shirone?" Neid asked.
Armin's eyebrows rose. Just as he thought, this weapon shop was a place where a strong feeling of Shirone's consciousness was gathered.
'Then I can't miss this chance,' Armin thought.
He decided to use stronger, more direct words. "Shirone is going to die soon. We want to help him before that happens."
Amy gulped and watched Neid nervously. How would Shirone's consciousness react to such scary words?
Neid looked at Armin with a face that showed no emotion at all. Then he spoke in a voice that was completely different from his friendly one before—it was cold and firm.
"Scram. This is not your world."
Armin knew he had made contact with a part of Shirone himself and pushed further. "Is that a refusal? Shirone, think again. You need our help. Please, tell me where you are."
Suddenly, something strange began to happen to Neid's body. His pupils vanished, turning his eyes into black, empty caves. His whole body started to turn dark, like a shadow.
"Sheesh! Did I make a mistake?" Armin said, quickly stepping back.
"What? What's going on?" Amy cried out.
"This is the beginning! Get out of here, now!" Armin yelled.
He shoved the shop door open with his shoulder, and Reina rushed out right behind him, her bow ready with an arrow. Amy looked back one last time.
The friendly Neid she knew was gone. A black, shadowy figure was now flying toward them fast. Her heart pounding, Amy dashed out of the store. Outside, more of the same shadowy things were coming from all directions.
Amy immediately cast a Shining Magic spell. A bright light burst from her, lighting up the area and making the pouring raindrops gleam.
Behind the curtain of falling water, dark shadows stood waiting.
They were shaped like people, but their waists were too long, and their arms dangled down to their knees.
The most frightening part was their faces. There were no eyes or mouths. Instead, it looked like a whirlpool being sucked into a dark hole, with thin lines of light spinning in a spiral.
"Mr. Armin! What in the world are those...?" Amy asked, her voice trembling.
"They are called Egoists," Armin explained quickly.
"Egoists?" Amy repeated.
"Don't be fooled by how they look," Armin warned. "They can change their shape whenever they want."
"Shhhhhh!" the Egoists hissed.
As the Egoists attacked, Armin used his Flicker magic. He disappeared from one spot and reappeared in another in a flash, escaping their circle. The Egoists who had rushed out of the buildings immediately changed direction to chase him.
Armin used Flicker over and over. His body would vanish, and then a flickering shockwave would cut through the air, showing the path he had taken.
Meanwhile, Reina, who was now ready for battle, placed three arrows between her fingers and fired them in a single, swift motion.
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
The arrows hit an Egoist, and its body exploded before falling to the wet ground. It was a strange sight that could never happen in the real world.
When one of them was hit, the other Egoists quickly adapted. As Reina shot more arrows, they twisted their waists into thin, thread-like shapes to dodge them. But this time, Amy was ready. She cast a Fire Strike, setting an Egoist's head on fire.
Even while burning, the Egoist kept attacking. They were much tougher than they looked. Compared to real monsters, they seemed to be as strong as a Tier 3 threat.
Reina was getting used to the bow. She ignored the sound of the rain and focused only on the sound of her opponents. She fired her arrows where she predicted they would move, and as if by magic, her arrows curved to hit the Egoists.
"Shhhhhh!" they hissed in anger.
While Armin and Reina fought together, Amy was fighting a single, powerful Egoist all by herself. It was the strongest one of the group—the one that used to be Neid from the weapon shop.
This Egoist changed its shape to fight better, chasing Amy. Its arms stretched out into four long, sharp points, stabbing at her like awls. But Amy bent her back like a flexible mollusk, dancing away while rapidly firing her Fire Strike spell.
More and more Egoists were coming to this place, their shadows moving everywhere. Armin's Flicker magic was useless if he tried to leave his friends behind, so he couldn't run away now.
"Amy, now!" Armin shouted.
Amy cast a Wall of Fire to separate the enemies from her friends. She concentrated hard, and the wall of flames shot up, burning twice as high and catching the Egoists that were lined up in its path.
The Neid Egoist stopped its attack and turned around, just staring at Amy. Amy remembered hearing Shirone's voice in the shop, and she shouted with all her heart.
"Shirone! It's me! Amy!"
The Egoist didn't answer. But it was clear that it understood her words. Its head tilted gently to the side, about 45 degrees, as if it was listening.