I entered the equipment store, ignoring the signs that warned against stealing and falsifying your credentials since I was more than qualified. I walked past the two armed security guards standing outside and entered with a fair amount of confidence

The shelves were stocked with all sorts of weapons that belonged in a different era. Most common were European-medieval swords but there were weapons from different cultures as well to fit many gifts. Unfortunately, I couldn’t spot a single war scythe but there was a large variety of polearms in its place.

“What can I do for you today?” The man attending to the counter asked.

“Hi, I uh, was wondering if you carry any war scythes?” The feeling of being a Gifted was still strange so it felt weird shopping for weapons as if they were groceries.

“War scythes? I can check but I don’t think we’ll have any.” He whistled a tune as he searched through a digital catalogue only to shake his head. “Nope, none of our stores carry any. If you want to place a custom order you can, but it’ll cost you at least twenty grand at the very least...We mostly carry spears and halberds with a few variations between the two. More...unique weapons usually have to be hand-crafted by one of the blacksmiths.”

“Ah, then don’t worry about it. Could I see some halberds?”

“Sure, but you have to pay a fee upfront to see the good stuff. It’s a security risk you see.”

“No, it’s fine, I just officially became a Gifted.”

“Oh, then I’ll bring out some of our more affordable options.” The man smiled before opening a locked weapons rack and bringing out a few of the halberds.

I’m not sure how it would fit in with Penelope’s Dance but it was the best substitute I had for now. My understanding was that a spear was more a thrust oriented weapon while I could focus on cutting and slashing with a halberd.

Eventually, I settled on a cheaper one since I had my novice rune inscription knowledge to help improve it.

“Good choice. There is a mechanism in the center which allows you to separate it into two parts for traveling. It’s sturdy so you don’t have to worry about it suddenly breaking during combat.” The man assured me and then directed me to a basic armor kit.

While the guilds or any Gifted with a large amount of money to spend could purchase synthesized combat suit, I wasn’t either one of them. The combat suit was a skin-tight suit that provided extra protection to the body. Its durable nature was due to it being processed from the tendons and muscle tissue of monsters. Unless you were ripped off, the suits could even protect against bullets.

What I purchased instead was a basic combat suit and leather armor to go over it. The basic combat suit was made from a cloth-like material that didn’t have even a small amount of the protective capability as its synthesized opposite. It could block cuts but it couldn’t negate the force behind them and its durability was much lower, meaning a few too many hits would expose your flesh.

As for customization, the color of combat suits purchased by freelance Gifted had to be dark grey to indicate they were unaffiliated. You could add designs to your armor if you wish but copying a guild would net you a punishment.

When I had finally left the store, I was carrying two weighty cases and had blown through quite a lot of money even though I tried to be as reasonable as possible.

“This better turn out well,” I muttered as I checked my current funds.

I had enough savings to hold me over for a few months and just enough on me to get a taxi back home. I carried the cases up into my apartment but stopped when I noticed a gift basket at the front door. It was likely from Nancy so I picked it up and dropped all my luggage at the door.

“This is somewhat exhausting.” The life of Gifted seemed far different on tv but the process to get started was tiresome and dull.

“I guess I should try on the combat suit first.” I let out a sigh as I opened the two cases.

I had to strip down to my underwear to put on the combat suit since it was meant to cling to your form. The cloth version kind of felt like zip-up pajamas and surprisingly, it wasn’t as uncomfortable to have on as I originally thought. I made sure to put on the gladiator-like kilt that covered my front and back side, thankfully. After that, I put on the leather armor, consisting of a helmet, breastplate, bracers, and boots. Well, I removed the helmet for now and began moving around what could be considered my new work uniform.

Next was to test the halberd out which would probably feel better than swinging a broom around. There was state of the art training facilities I could pay to use, but for now, my home seemed like a good place to start. I wanted to wait until I had a steady source of income before paying for an expensive membership.

I assembled the two sections of the halberd, twisting it until a satisfying click rang out and then I decided to practice Penelope’s Dance before attempting to inscribe runes. Having an object with weight actually improved the flow of my moves as it allowed me to move with increased accuracy.

“That should be enough for now.” I ended my practice early and laid the halberd across a coffee table before going into my kitchen and grabbing a knife.

I quickly went through my knowledge of rune inscription as I approached the halberd.

To make runes permanent, I had to choose a property, inscribe it, and add a corresponding number of souls to keep it. Temporary runes, as the name would imply, only lasted for a few hours, but they would cost nothing except a bit of blood. Another thing to note was, I could inscribe a max amount of three permanent runes with my current level of knowledge. As for temporary runes, I could only add two at a time and certain properties were only available as permanent runes.

As I sliced open my thumb, I chose began writing the only temporary runes I had knowledge of which were “Sharpness” and “Weighted Edge.”

My writing was a bit sloppy but the blood emitted a dim light before instantly drying. I ran my fingers across the runes and they didn’t smear, letting me know my attempt was a success.

I lifted the halberd once more and felt a noticeable increase in weight. I gave the sharpness rune the benefit of the doubt since I didn’t want to break anything and I wasn’t willing to test it on myself.

Without much else to do, I spent the rest of my day practicing Penelope’s Dance.

…

For the next few days, I suddenly realized that all I did was practice Penelope’s Dance. Of course, I ate and slept, and even took a few breaks to catch up on the news, but I spent the majority of my time learning Penelope’s fighting style.

During the small breaks I took, I made sure to do some research on Ruin Clearing for the first time and was as relieved as anyone would be to see all the horrific experiences. The most common stories detailed those who were too confident and ended up being horrifically injured. It seemed freelancers had it the worst since there were no contracts that guaranteed treatment in case of a life-altering injury, unlike the ones guilds offered. There was the option of entering government service but it was far more demanding than being a freelancer.

To summarize, a life-altering injury was more than extremely likely for those who weren’t prepared.

“But that’s why I have you.” I tapped my hand against the surface of the nameless book.

While I didn’t have enough souls to gain anything new from the ancient book, it was the most valuable object I had in my possession. It had gotten me this far and after adding more souls, it would bring me even further.

I was supposed to meet with my neighbor in an hour so I contemplated if I should convert this book into its ring form and take it with me or stash it away. I opted for the latter after some thought, I retreated into my room and buried the book underneath of my hidden stash of animal remains.

“Well, even if someone does attempt to steal it after rummaging through containers of bones, they’d need an affinity with death to actually pick it up.” I thought back to scene at the ruin where I recovered it and shuddered a bit. Thinking back, I could’ve easily died if not for my gift.

I got dressed and headed out while wondering about my gift. I wanted to be extremely careful with how I used it from now on since I didn’t want to put myself at risk.

I wasn’t being narcissistic if that’s what it seemed, because thinking about it rationally, there would be many who wanted to see the memories of someone who had passed on. Whether it be sentiment or for the purpose of seeking a hidden treasure left behind, I’m sure there were some who would go to any lengths in order to get me to help them. I resolved myself not to prematurely expose my real gift until I had the means of dealing with the problems that came with it.

A short walk later and I had arrived at a humble cafe where a group of middle-aged women gathered together at a table. Well, among them was a brown-haired guy in his twenties, around my age maybe, and he seemed as if he’d rather be anywhere else.

“Ah, Casper, come in, we saved you a seat.”

I opened the door to the cafe and walked in and received an oddly familiar from Nancy, a woman who I had only barely known before a few days ago. Still, I played along as best I could since it was only through her I would be meeting another Gifted.

“You’re Casper?” The young man asked as he stood up, offering his hand. Although he seemed to be polite, there was a clear look of annoyance on his face.

“I am.” I shook his hand, ignoring it.

“Jameson.” He sat back down and gestured for me to do the same.

“It’s nice to meet-”

“I’ll be frank with you, Casper...” He cut me off before I could finish. “I don’t want to waste any more time so could you tell me the classification of your gift?”

“Class two,” I answered without much thought.

Sure, he could be considered a bit rude, but he did go out of his way to come here for someone who could’ve just as easily been a liar.

After hearing my classification, his expression became a bit more hospitable.

“Class two? Could I see your classification card?”

“Sure.” I opened up my wallet and handed over the fresh Gifted ID card.

“Ah!” He exclaimed lightly.

The group of women began whispering among themselves after discovering I was the real deal. Nancy showed a triumphant expression while another lady seemed to be frowning, upset about something.

“I won’t ask you for the specifics of your gift here, but surely it wouldn’t be too much to let me know if you have a combat-related gift?”

“It’s combat related.”

“Close combat or long-range.”

“Close combat.”

“Hmm...Any fighting experience?”

I paused, thinking of my progress with Penelope’s Dance and nodded before elaborating, “I’m studying a certain fighting style but I’ve never fought in a Ruin.”

“That’s not really a problem if-” Jameson suddenly stopped, “Come on, let’s speak a bit more privately.”

He stood up and I followed behind him as we moved to an empty corner of the cafe.

“Now, I want to know if you’re interested in a ruin clearing with my group before I ask anything further.”

“Of course.” I nodded, restraining my eagerness as best I could.

“Alright, then could I know the nature of your gift?”

“Well...I’ve only recently awakened to it. I think it’s just best to say I get stronger by killing more things.”

“...So, you mean to say, it’s like you’re building a combo or something?”

“No, it’s uh, a bit closer to necromancy I’d think,” I spoke a bit sheepishly as I worried about what type of reaction my gift would draw.

“Your gift is related to necromancy and you’re a fighter at that? Wouldn’t that make your gift a rare one?”

“Yes, technically it would, but I’ve read that rare doesn’t always mean better.”

“You're right about that, Casper. Either way, as long as you have some practice, I don’t really mind as you won't have much to do anyway.” Jameson shrugged, pulling out his phone and sliding it over, “Put in your contact info.”

“Sure.” I typed my number and full name into his contacts while admiring the clearly advanced phone, it was far more expensive than the one I owned.

“With you, we have a team of five taking on a well-known class three ruin. For the first run, you won’t receive an even split since you’re new, I hope you understand.”

“It’s no problem.” I shook my head.

“Good, because as long as you prove yourself to be a capable person it’ll be a pretty fair share from there on. Our team is headed by a class three mage who will be protected by you and another to start with. Our frontline fighters will consist of me and another class two fighter. Basically, you’re just there to catch anything that slips between the gaps if we slip up. It's not a very hard job and you probably won't need to do much as it's a shared role.”

“Okay, I think I understand.”

“Alright, I’ll call you soon and set it up. We already applied to clear a Ruin so clear your schedule for the next two or three days.”

“Got it.”

Jameson and I left the cafe, sharing a few more words before heading our separate ways. As I moved past the window, I could see Nancy mouthing the words “thank you” to which I replied with a nod. She had helped me far more than I helped her if I thought about it. And all she wanted out of it was a bit bragging rights which was more than a fair trade.