Numbers x Casket-Chapter 9: Choosing Weapons

Up above the sky, the moon revealed itself as it passed through the series of clouds; its white, golden radiance illuminated the entire forest.

Two people, a combination of a man and a woman sitting beside each other underneath the shade of a giant maple tree, were busy looking at the constellation of stars shining with their glittering brilliance.

"Are you really alright? Tomorrow is the day." The deafening silence that enveloped the vast area was shattered as the woman opened up a conversation.

Then, she looked at the man next to her; her vermilion eyes felt somewhat restless.

Several seconds had already passed, and there were still no words coming from the man's lips. He just lay down and used his hand as a cushion.

"To be honest with you, I'm scared..." the man finally answered and paused for a while, then a deep sigh escaped from his mouth before continuing. "I don't know how they will react, especially him."

Afterward, he glanced at the woman and stared at her eyes.

"I hope everything turns out well," he added.

As a response to his remark, the woman smiled and stood up. Then, she took several steps towards the open field, which caused the man to sit up and follow her with his eyes.

"Where are you going?" the man asked, curious about his companion's actions.

However, the woman kept her silence; she just looked back at him, still wearing her captivating smile. Then, butterflies with vibrant orange wings began to emerge and fly around her.

Afterward, she raised her hand and let the colorful insect settle on her forefinger.

"Regardless of the outcome, just remember, like these wonderful creatures, no matter how tiny they are and despite how strong the rain is, once it stops pouring, they will continue to flap their wings and reach new heights," the woman stated as her gaze focused on the butterfly.

Her words made the man chuckle; he stood up and walked towards the woman. Upon reaching a certain distance, he looked at her eyes and spoke.

"But what if the rain doesn't stop? A single droplet would be enough to damage my wings, turning me into a cripple," he refuted.

"Then crawl," the woman answered as soon as she heard the argument.

"Crawl all the way to the top!" she added, exclaiming, one of her eyebrows raised.

The man blinked his eyes several times, his mouth partially opened upon hearing the reply.

"That's absurd," he uttered.

Then he raised his hand and was about to give the woman a flick on the forehead when the surroundings began to shatter into shards along with her, leaving the man alone at the center of the endless darkness.

. . . . .

"Xenen!" Efraim exclaimed as soon as he opened his eyes.

He stared at the ceiling for a moment, wondering about the scene from his dream, his expression laced with a hint of sadness.

The next second, he sat up and shook his head, then his hand accidentally touched something warm and soft on her left side, making him take a glance.

He almost jumped out of the bed after seeing the woman lying next to him; her long black hair was in a little mess, a few strands covering a part of her face, yet it couldn't hide her dazzling appearance.

"L-L-Lindsay!" Efraim stuttered, stunned.

His voice was not that loud but still enough to wake the sleeping maiden. As her eyelashes began to move up, her gold-colored eyes became visible and looked at Efraim.

"Good morning," she whispered, her tone sluggish yet seductive.

The appraiser stared at her and gulped a mouthful of saliva. Then he shook his head and stormed outside of the room. He went to wash his face, but the moment he remembered Lindsay in a nightgown, he felt his ears a little bit hotter.

Thus, he shook his head again to clear out his thoughts and looked at his reflection in the mirror. As soon as he did, he noticed the scar on his chest, and the scene from the battle resurfaced in his mind.

The excruciating pain that resulted from a sudden beam that pierced his heart was still lingering around his thoughts.

"How did I manage to survive that thing?" he asked himself.

Then, a knock on the door pulled him out from his contemplation.

"Efraim, are you there?" It was none other than their captain's voice.

"Yes, give me a second," he answered and walked towards the door.

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As soon as he opened it, he saw the old man standing; his expression had a mixture of anxiety and disappointment.

"Great, it looks like you're already healed now," the captain commented after examining his body.

"What's the matter?" Efraim asked, ignoring the remark.

Accompanied by a deep sigh, the old man walked towards the table and sat down before looking at Efraim.

"I submitted the contents of our mission to the guild; I even stated the number of casualties, but they still wanted us to explore the giant pit, or else we wouldn't receive a dime despite our efforts," the captain explained the situation.

Then he massaged the temple of his forehead and spoke once again.

"If not for the young lady, we'd be corpses by now," he added.

His words were enough to make Efraim's brows furrow. He looked at the old man; curiosity was evident in his eyes.

"Captain, can you please tell me what happened?" he asked.

The old man giggled; his soft laughter reverberated into the small room, and then a creaking sound of a door being opened followed. Lindsay walked onto it.

"I still feel tired," she yawned.

Afterward, a scene enough for Efraim to make his jaw drop transpired before his eyes. The man whom they referred to as captain got down on his knees, kneeling in front of the woman.

"Good morning, My Lady. Your loyal servant is here to serve you," the old man stated.

Efraim diverted her gaze to Lindsay, his eyes asking questions, but the only response that he got was a mesmerizing, playful smile.

. . . . .

In a small town, near the capital city of Celestia, the streets were quite busy; merchants with their different products and commodities filled the sides of the streets. Most of the passersby were equators, constantly looking at each merchandise, searching for something that suited their style.

"Weapons! Weapons! Available for sale! We have swords, spears, and even staffs for mages! Come! Check out our items!" One of the merchants' voices echoed across the street.

"Selling leather armor for warriors! Robes for mages! For only a few pieces of bronze coin!" Another one yelled, trying to attract some customers.

Efraim took a look at the swords being displayed in one of the stalls. After knowing who Lindsay really was, he decided to take a walk in the middle of the town and check some weapons for himself.

After all, his swords were damaged and already beyond repair; cracks were formed on their blades while the edges had chips on several parts.

"May I know your preferences?" the merchant asked, wanting to accommodate him.

Efraim picked up the black sword in front of him and replied. "I'm looking for single-edged swords."

Afterward, his right eye changed into a cyan-colored hexagram, and number ninety-five, written in black, appeared at the top of the sword.

'This would do for the meantime, I guess,' he thought while looking at the other displays.

Compared to them, the black sword in his hand had the highest grade according to his ability, and the rest was not even close to its rating.

"Are you an appraiser?" the merchant asked as he looked at his customer's eye.

"Sort of," Efraim answered. Then he unsheathed the black sword.

"How much for this?" he added while inspecting the edges of its black blade along with the intricate phoenix carvings on its rainguard.

However, upon hearing its price, he gently placed it back.

'Fifteen pieces of silver, that's daylight robbery,' he thought.

Afterward, he went to check the other stalls, but nothing caught his attention.

'Should I just buy for temporary use?' he pondered.

Then, in one section of the street, he noticed an old weapon store. Enthralled by what was inside, he walked in its direction.

Upon reaching the doorstep, he noticed that the building was run down and not a single customer was inside even though there was an open sign hanging on its door.

Consumed by curiosity, he sauntered towards the entrance, and upon stepping foot inside, different kinds of weapons enclosed in a glass chamber greeted him. There were scythes, gauntlets, even war axes, and long-range weapons like crossbows. He immediately activated his Flair, and as soon as the cyan hexagram pattern on his right eye appeared, he inspected each weapon.

"How come no one is here? These are pretty awesome. I wonder how much each of these costs," he uttered.

The place was not that large but not that small either; dust particles accumulated on the floor, but Efraim didn't give it any mind; all of his attention was on the swords placed on the shelves.

All of them had numbers written in blue color.

The next second, a quavering voice reverberated inside the store.

"Do you have something particular in mind?" the voice said, and an old man appeared behind the young appraiser.

"Greetings! I'm the humble owner of this place. Welcome to Legend's Collections," the old man stated as soon as Efraim turned around to face him.

A number eighty-six written in gold was floating on top of his head.

. . . . .