ZhangYe
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Chapter 26 - Equipment for my clones.
🕑 Added 2025-04-19 14:48:07 +0000 UTCPOV: Zane
I had just finished talking with Zoro and remembered the other characters I’d ignored for a few hours—Akame, Natsu, and Aizen. I checked on each of them to make sure everything was okay.
To my surprise, Akame was already back inside the dungeon. She didn’t even tell me she was returning. Well, I did tell them to go back into the dungeon from time to time to keep leveling up.
Natsu and Aizen, on the other hand, were still in the city.
Natsu was sitting outside a restaurant, watching people walk by with a big, dumb smile on his face. Aizen was inside a bar, drinking with some folks.
He doesn't have any money, but I don't care.
I wonder how he's planning to pay for everything.
With that, I cut my connection to all the clones for now.
I’d been lying on the couch for hours, just following what my clones were doing. As fun as it is, I should take care of their gear and maybe buy some new skills too.
I took control of “Clone 16” and made some changes to his appearance—something I hadn’t done before. His hair grow a bit and I changed its color to blonde. I also changed his eye color.
They used to be blue, now they’re gray.
But it’s just a temporary change.
With that done, I left the dungeon and climbed the tower to visit the Hephaestus Familia’s shops. Before heading to Welf’s store, I figured I should look around for a good sword.
Most of the characters I created use swords, so that’s what I need right now.
I reached the Hephaestus Familia’s shops and was greeted by a woman who, the moment she saw I didn’t have a falna, assumed I wasn’t going to buy anything and looked a bit annoyed by my presence.
But she didn’t kick me out.
I spent a long time looking at the swords on display.
The prices were insanely high.
The swords ranged from 5 million Valis to even 10 or 20 million. That’s way more than I can afford.
'But that sword…' I spotted a red-bladed sword priced at nearly 10 million Valis. I really wanted it, but I didn’t have the money. I walked over to the clerk and asked, “Do you have any swords cheaper than the ones out here?”
“We do. Follow me.” She didn’t seem very enthusiastic, but she took me to see the cheaper ones.
Still, even the cheapest ones were around 1 to 2 million Valis. I’ve got 5 million. I can’t blow all my money on a single sword—I need to survive too.
Sure, I only need one sword to equip all my clones with it, but still, the price is too high. I smiled at the woman and told her I’d come back and buy a sword another time.
I left Hephaestus Familia’s shop feeling defeated.
Guess I’ll head to Welf’s shop.
####
I arrived near Welf’s shop and reverted to my original appearance before entering. As soon as I walked in, Welf recognized me, and I saw a smile form on his lips.
“You’re back. Zane, right?”
“That’s me. I need a favor, Welf.”
“Huh? Need a new sword? Armor?” My clone was already equipped, so I had a sword and armor.
“Yeah. I need weapons for a few friends. I’d like to place some orders—what do you think?”
“How many are we talking about? I’ve got a few swords and armors in stock. You can take a look and see if anything suits them. Why didn’t you bring them along? That’d make things easier.”
“They’re busy right now.” I smiled and followed Welf into the back of the shop.
He led me to a room with lots of swords and a few sets of armor. All of it was above average quality, but nothing too amazing. Still, they all look the same…
There wasn’t much variety.
All the swords looked exactly alike.
“I was hoping for swords of different sizes and designs. I also need a really big sword.”
That one’s for the Berserker. A big sword would be perfect.
“What, are you friends with a minotaur or something?”
“No, no—but he’s pretty huge. What do you think?”
I pulled money from my inventory and handed it to him.
“There’s 500,000 here. Just listen to me and tell me if you can make the swords and armor I need. I want to hire you. You’re talented.”
“Are you kidding? You some rich kid from a noble Familia or something?” Welf took the money. “Alright, I’ll hear you out—but don’t expect me to agree to everything.”
“That’s fine. As long as you listen, I’m happy.”
I’m sure he’ll take the job.
####
POV: Third Person
Somewhere on the fifth floor of the dungeon, a small group of four had just wrapped up a three-day expedition. It was time to head home.
Two men and two women.
A swordsman, a lancer, a mage, and another swordswoman. The party wasn’t exactly well-balanced, but they were skilled—all of them were Level 3 adventurers.
“What do you guys think about those masked adventurers? Their numbers are really growing, huh?” Along the way, they’d already passed by more than three masked groups and a couple of solo masked adventurers.
They hadn’t dared to speak to any of them. If someone’s wearing a mask, it means they’re hiding their identity. And people who hide their identities… usually are criminals.
Though so far, there hadn’t been any reports of masked adventurers attacking others.
The one asking was the group’s leader.
The other man replied, “I don’t think much of them. Probably just a bunch of idiots trying to look mysterious.”
“Agreed. Why wear a mask when you're in a Familia and can be identified if you commit a crime? They just want to look cool.”
“I think it’s kind of embarrassing,” one of the women said, laughing.
“Hmm… I agree with you guys. But I do wonder where they’re all getting those identical masks. Are they custom ordering them, or buying from the same shop?”
“Maybe they’re just making them themselves, who knows?” the woman replied with a shrug.
After that, the topic shifted quickly—until they were interrupted.
They stopped walking and looked ahead at the figure blocking their path. It was a tall and muscular man, holding a massive sword in his right hand.
He wasn’t wearing armor, so his somewhat ragged clothes were visible.
He wore a black mask that covered his entire face, though his spiky hair was still visible.
The group of four halted, and the leader asked, “Who are you?”
The large man said nothing and then suddenly charged at them.
“Shit!” the leader shouted, caught off guard. Despite his size, the man was fast. In a blink, he closed the distance and swung his massive sword.
The leader didn’t even have time to activate a skill. He barely managed to raise his sword to block.
But his sword was cut clean in half, along with his body.
The slash came down diagonally, slicing from his shoulder to his waist. Half his body hit the ground.
The rest of the group panicked and moved to attack.
But before they could, one of the women felt a sharp pain in her back. She turned and saw a black mask right behind her. Through its eye holes, she saw two pitch-black eyes staring back.
Those eyes were smiling at her.
Then she looked down and saw the tip of a blade sticking out of her stomach.
The remaining two tried to fight, but two more masked figures appeared, surrounding them. Even as Level 3 adventurers, they stood no chance.
The masked men were at least Level 4—if not stronger.
The last one alive was one of the men.
As his eyes slowly closed, he saw the four attackers remove their masks.
“Bastards…” he whispered, as a tear rolled down the corner of his eye.
