Chapter 9 - Weapon
"Very well, I will find the perfect weapon for you." The cylinder's screen activated after she touched it.
She did her job for two minutes before she asked again. "Do you have any condition for your weapons such as the color or style?"
Kai thought a bit then shook his head. "No, I'm good as long as I'm comfortable when using it."
"Very well." After another minute, the screen projected three weapons for them.
The first single-edged sword had a one-meter length blade with a white twenty-centimeter handle. The sword looked bland but sharp.
The second sword had a 120-centimeter blade and a thirty-centimeter handle. The second sword seemed to emphasize power with that length, but it wasn't Kai's style.
The third sword also had a one-meter length blade, the same as the first sword. But the third sword had a chain on the back of its handle. Kai preferred using two swords at the same time. From the look of it, the third sword seemed to have a chain that could connect them.
Sadly, Kai thought the chain was a hassle. It might be in his way in the battle. With that, his choice was obvious. "I'll choose the first one."
"Very well." Becca then continued typing something that they couldn't understand. Not long after, the cylinder opened up its lid and presented them with a pair of bracelets.
"This is your weapon." She handed the bracelets to Kai. "Each bracelet represents a sword. You can channel your magic power into the bracelet and say 'summon' to unleash the sword.
"If you decide only to use one of them, you can channel your magic power into one of the bracelets and say 'summon.' Although it looks bland, the sword itself is very sharp. How about trying to summon them?"
Kai looked at the boss first, Kudo Taro. He nodded his head to Kai with a smile. He then made a bit of distance from the group.
He put on the bracelets on each hand before channeling them with Mana. He then said, "Summon."
The bracelet turned into a sword handle as the blue colored blade slowly made its appearance. Although the blue blade's style was simple, it had a hidden charm that could make the user feel that the blade was definitely reliable.
Kai tried to swing them around so he could feel the swords. He felt that he didn't need a long time to become accustomed to the swords.
After a while, he stopped. Becca immediately gave another instruction, "To deactivate it, you can say 'recall.' This can become an advantage or disadvantage as the sword itself had a magic core in it. So even if you accidentally drop the sword, the sword will still be active."
"Recall." Kai immediately deactivated the swords, and they changed back into bracelets.
He checked his magic power after the usage. Surprisingly, he didn't lose any of his magic power. He also didn't feel any discomfort after using it.
"You don't need to use magic power for this weapon as the magic core will supply the magic power first. Please don't forget to charge it with your magic power daily so it won't suddenly take your magic power." Becca explained again.
Kai nodded to her before walking toward Kudo Taro. "Thank you."
He thanked him. Taro only raised his hand with the stop hand sign, telling him not to mind about it.
Kai then walked to Ayaka and thanked her again.
"I... It's because I lost to you, all right." She crossed her arms and looked away while blushing.
Kai only nodded at her with a smile. Well, at least this girl could also be cute like this instead of just being annoying. At first, he thought of her as annoying. That, or it might be the effect of the brib- Ahem, the new swords.
He was happy to receive them, and it made her look cute in his eyes. Anyway, Tasha's turn came.
"A bow, is it?" Even without Tasha saying anything, as her fan, Becca immediately knew her preferred weapon.
"Yes," Tasha affirmed.
Becca immediately started typing whatever on the screen as fast as possible. She became fired up. Not long after, the screen projected three bows.
The first bow was an ordinary longbow with a black and green ornament. The material for the bow had been chosen carefully to make the bow's power output and magic efficiency higher. The curve itself had gone through countless trials and errors to make an optimal curve.
The second bow was a blue composite bow. The bow had numerous mechanisms to let the user feel comfortable. The mechanisms also increased the power output. In fact, this composite bow would have more power than the first bow.
The third bow was a crossbow. Tasha didn't use a crossbow, so she immediately crossed this out. Becca presented her a crossbow as this crossbow was the most powerful out of the three. Sadly, it wasn't Tasha's style to use a crossbow.
She preferred making her own arrows using her magic power. Coupled with her lightning magic, the power output and speed immediately overshadowed the rest. She could also shoot multiple arrows at once, so she chose the first bow.
"I will choose the first bow."
"Very well." Becca didn't question her choice even though the first bow was the worst out of the three bows.
When the weapon came, it wasn't a bracelet but a ring. Although it disappointed her a bit because she didn't get a match-up with Kai, she didn't show it.
Becca handed her the ring. Tasha accepted it with a smile on her face.
"The bow materials had been chosen by experts to optimize power efficiency. It also helps in activating a magic circle." Becca started explaining again to Tasha. Until finally, "...Please try it first. We can change it if it doesn't suit your preference."
Tasha also made a distance from them before she said, "Summon."
The ring turned into a black bow with green ornaments on it. If Kai's sword looked simple and elegant, this bow looked strong and cool.
Tasha tried to draw the bow to feel the string. She didn't have any complaints on the bow.
She sometimes sparred with Kai. She didn't always use a bow since she also wanted to enhance her close combat. There was another reason for that. When she tried to hit Kai from afar, Kai always dodged her because of his exceptional hearing.
She didn't have any problems with the new weapon. Although she was wary of this Kudo Taro, she didn't forget to thank him for the weapon. She also even thanked Ayaka, as she was a part of the reason she could get a weapon.
If Ayaka didn't bother Kai, she wouldn't be receiving a weapon like this.
"Well, since both of you have picked a weapon, how about staying for a little longer for dinner with us?"
Even though she was thankful, Tasha couldn't accept that invitation. It was the same as giving Kai away to Kudo Group. She grabbed Kai as a magic circle appeared beneath their feet.
"No thank you."
Kai shook his head helplessly. He corrected her apologetically, "We're honored by your invitation, but my sister and I have a prior arrangement, so we can't accept your invitation. If another chance comes, then we'd love to accept your invitation."
He thought about reprimanding her when they arrived back home, but it was understandable for Tasha, who was so obsessed with Kai. She didn't care whether she was rude or not to other people if it concerned Kai.
They then disappeared. The one she used just now was space magic. This was the reason why she could become an S-rank magician. She had two elements, which were lightning and space. Coupled with her magic power, she became an S-rank magician.
Kudo Taro didn't take offense to her action as she took Kai away rudely. He had heard various rumors about her, including her private identity as a bro-con.
After seeing her action just now, he confirmed that that was the case. He sighed. It seemed the road for his granddaughter would be hard.
He was fond of Kai. Surely there might be a lot of people who had higher ranks than him. But he didn't seem fond of them.
Those who had higher ranks than him were usually arrogant. On the other hand, Kai's power was deeper than he imagined.
Kai was a D-rank magician, but there seemed to be more than that. He must be concealing his real power. He was different from a lot of people who loved to flaunt their power, whether it was to grab people's attention or for other reasons.
Kai chose to use his power wisely. He laughed, "Hohoho, Ayaka, Becca, don't mind about them."
Ayaka was shocked when they suddenly disappeared so rudely after getting their weapons. After her grandfather told her not to mind it, she decided not to throw a fit.
At least Kai's action was better. She decided to talk to Kai tomorrow. On the other hand, Becca was confused. Tasha appeared to be a cool beauty in front of the media. But the one in front of her was so different than the one she found in the media.
She began to doubt the credibility of the media. Not only that, but Tasha's image began to crumble in her mind. Well, her image had crumbled in Ayaka's mind. That's the reason why Ayaka reprimanded her for not being professional.
"Becca, since we have served the guest, you should go back to your work. Ayaka and I will go back home to have dinner."
"Understood, Teacher. I wish you a great day."
"Ayaka, let's go."
"Yes, Grandfather. See you later, Sister Becca. Thank you for your hard work."
The two then left the building.