This is the story of a magician and an elf girl.

Walking towards the weapons store, Ao Jun ignored Richard's words and entered the store to start choosing new weapons. The wooden stick he used to use was torn into pieces by his brute force. To be honest, that was not an expensive weapon. It was just a low-grade blunt weapon reinforced with iron sheets and nails. With the brute force and natural arm strength of the tiger-wolf man, he should have chosen a stronger and heavier sharp weapon - it would not be an exaggeration to say that he showed mercy.

"Oh, new weapons? Do you have enough tokens? How about I lend you some?"

"No need, I just need the heavy weapon."

"In that case, how about this long sword? It's a perfect size for you," Richard suggested, pointing to a two-handed sword with decorations on the handle.

He was humiliated by Ao-kun who was holding a stick. He could lift such a heavy wooden stick, but he didn't use metal weapons. Didn't he feel sorry for all the humans and demihumans who couldn't afford to use swords?

"Please... don't use the stick anymore. If you lose again, I won't want you anymore, Ao-kun."

"There won't be a next time. I won't let you go."

"So you are just letting it go. How can a blunt weapon be more powerful than a sharp one?"

"Both the striking and defensive capabilities of the stick are superior, as is the price."

"So what I require is lethality, not pure striking ability. For humans, the ability to withstand attacks is indeed very important, but it is completely meaningless in front of your lethality. No matter how many swords and spears there are, they are just a bundle of branches. A sharp sword can cut them off in one stroke..."

"In that case... I have a recommendation... Guest?"

"?" "?"

The store manager, who didn't know why the two came in without saying hello, pointed to the giant axe on the wall and introduced the characteristics of the weapon. It is very likely that it fits the weapon they are looking for: "Not only is it powerful in chopping, but its resistance to blows is also as good as a stick. If it is a customer, it should not be a problem for him to swing it."

"It's not a problem if it's less than 100 kilograms, but the price..."

"It's just a thousand tokens, what's the big deal...eh?"

One thousand tokens? As far as Richard knew, he only had about five hundred tokens in his pocket, and the price of having a subhuman slave serve him in bed was about one hundred tokens. If the conditions were not good, he might be able to get a half-price discount from the store owner, and the maximum price would not exceed one hundred and twenty.

And the weapons store manager actually said one thousand tokens? If you live in this fortress, you need to pay at least twenty tokens per month as protection fee in exchange for the right to live there. I don't know how many months you can live here with one thousand tokens before you use them up.

"Boss...did you write an extra zero? Or did you forget to add a dot in front?"

"Uh?"

"Stop kidding me! One thousand tokens! Are you crazy?!"

"No, no, no, sir. That is one of our store's most advanced weapons! It is just for reference. If you don't have enough tokens, you can choose to pay in installments. You are Lord Richard, right? You only need to pay one hundred tokens a month, and you can pay it off in ten months."

"Ah, really?"

"Yeah...just sign the contract."

"no problem."

Richard signed the contract immediately after hearing that he could pay in installments, paid with the tokens, and left the weapon shop with Aojun, carrying the giant axe. The reason why he made the decision so decisively was not because he had mastered some business trump card - but because he saw the tolerance of time.

"Ten months...hahaha...that's great...it would be bad if you asked me to pay directly, but ten months is not a big deal."

"It's up to you... and by the way, does it include my salary?"

"Deduct 20% unless you are useful. If you want a raise, go to the arena."

"Alas... How rude... Relying on my strength in that kind of place is like using a butcher knife to kill a chicken."

"Really? Then I'll wait and see."

Not long after they left the store, Jie Si, who came out of Hougang, entered the weapon store and quickly asked the owner for equipment: "Boss, do you still have short arrows for the crossbow? If possible, I would like to buy 20. Ah, do you have any throwing knives with the center of gravity on the blade today?"

"Mr. Jie Si, welcome. Please wait a moment. I will go get the goods."

The boss, who was already used to this character, quickly brought the goods to the counter and checked every arrow to see if it was bent. Jie Si carefully observed the completeness of the arrow body. From his appearance, you really couldn't tell that he had this side.

Next was the iron throwing knife. He placed the center of the blade on his fingertips to measure the weight. He knew very well that these weapons were the key to life and death in battle. If one of them was inferior, it would become a factor of defeat - that's why he was so cautious.

"As expected of the boss, everything is very accurate."

"Thank you for your praise, Master Jiesi. This is all custom-made for you, so of course I can't be careless."

"Haha, I'm really grateful for your kindness. I feel a little embarrassed for being so picky."

"It's nothing... I have a new product that I'd like to introduce to you."

"Oh?"

The store manager took out a small crossbow from the drawer of the counter and demonstrated its features. He pushed the lock in front of the trigger to open the hinge between the gun body and injected iron beads into the track of the cylinder. He explained: "This is a small crossbow that can easily carry short arrows and quickly load arrows. Once the lock in front of the trigger is opened, the gun body will split to reveal the cylinder. A total of eight iron bullets can be added inside. After firing, you only need to pull the trigger again to load the bowstring with the pulley and gear mechanism. It's very convenient, right?"

"Oh... That's awesome... A slingshot that can fire continuously... The power hasn't decreased, has it?"

"The range is twenty meters... no more. The improved marbles may reach thirty meters, but there is no new breakthrough in technology... Iron bullets in a vacuum are not practical... It's hard enough to just press the trigger now, right? Master Jie Si, how about you give it a try?"

"Let's try it now."

The small crossbow, which is made entirely of iron and aluminum alloy, is completely different from the crossbow that Jie Si is holding now. First of all, it weighs about three kilograms, and the handle engraved with a checkered pattern feels very good in the palm of the hand. The weight is basically heavier at the back of the gun body. This is a side effect of the gear and pulley structure. After all, the bow arm is not placed in front of the gun body, but in the center of the bolt - at first glance, it looks like a sophisticated machine.

"So what's a good test?"

"That shield over there. No one will use it in this era anyway, so it doesn't hurt to give it a try."

"it is good."

Jie Si raised the crossbow and aimed at the shield and pulled the trigger - snap! A strong vibration came from the palm of his hand. The solid shooting feeling made Jie Si fall in love with it in an instant. The impeccable power easily opened a 6mm hole on the aluminum shield. If a human was hit at this distance, he would definitely cry out in pain.

Clap, clap, clap! Plus, the steel wire connected to the eccentric wheel triggers the gear structure inside the gun as long as the trigger is pulled, which perfectly realizes the continuous shooting function. The amplitude and force adjustment of the reed are not inferior to modern crossbows. This is probably the first weapon in this era that can fire continuously.

"How does it feel, Master Jiesi?"

"How much, one thousand tokens? Two thousand tokens? I want them, boss. I want all the spare steel balls, too."

"Thank you for the compliment, Master Jiesi. If you like it, I'll give it to you."

"..."

The store manager took out a bag of steel balls from the drawer and placed it on the counter. He only took the tokens that Jie Si had just paid, and did not ask for a penny for anything else.

"That Ao Jun's weapons were actually broken... He even came to buy expensive new weapons... I had already predicted this - this place is about to be destroyed, what's the point of collecting these living expenses..."

"Boss, don't say things like that..."

"And a person like you has come to buy so many weapons. You will go to the battlefield next, right?"

"It's just an arena. This kind of place can't kill me."

"Are you confident that you can win? You never know what dangers you might encounter in the arena..."

"I will win, no matter who the enemy is, I will not lose."

"Why? Everyone loses sometimes. Master Jiesi, do you have a reason to protect this place?"

"Of course, it was you, the boss, who gave me the ability to fight and the weapons. If this place collapses, I won't be able to fight, right?"

"So - if this place is destroyed, all of this will be gone."

"You can talk about depressing things when you die. Take the five hundred tokens. This is the deposit. I want to see the improved version of this thing when I come back. Do you understand?"

"Okay... then please make sure to win - Master Jiesi."

People who took a step towards what was about to happen, each with their own feelings, staggered their paths in front of the store. On one side were those who protected the battle in order to enjoy it, on the other side were those who pursued survival for the sake of a sustainable life, and on the other side were those who were prepared not to regret that battle.

The warriors of the fortress stepped into the entrance of the arena together and filled in their proud names on the registration form.

"What did you bet on this time?"

"Nothing, just tokens."

"Tokens, I'm betting on my permanent residency."

“That’s not something that can be exchanged for tokens.”

The rules of the arena are simple - you bet on the contestants' property, and if you survive the challenge, you can get the property of others. In other words, the more contestants there are, the richer the prizes will be.

Most contestants replaced prizes with tokens, but of course there are exceptions.

"Oh, what a coincidence, we meet again."

"Stalking you? You have a bad taste. Let me make it clear that we won't let you off the hook."

"The challenge hasn't even started yet, and you're already thinking about how to deal with me? You sound murderous."

It's unknown when Jie Si, who was trying to instigate Aojun and Richard, had entered the venue. Even if he wanted to leave now, it was too late. This man had obviously seen where the two of them were going and therefore participated in this competition.

"I'm just curious once in a while. What did you bet on, Jie Si?"

"Hmm? Oh, I just gave a piece of paper. Whoever wins gets it. It says 'Murderous Scroll' on it. It's a very attractive prize, right?"

"It's a pity they accepted it... The review was too casual."

"If you get it, just ask me, Jess, to kill anyone you want. So what did you bet on? The elf?"

"The auction hasn't started yet. If they can get that elf, I'm sure many people will participate. Someone has probably been sent to bring it over. It will be placed among the prizes and stand like a doll. I'm really looking forward to it."

"Who is this guy with a bad taste... Never mind, I'm not much better."

Although they said that, no matter how much time passed, the backstage staff took a long time to bring the elf girl to the podium where the prize was placed.