Kill the Sun

The three of them grew excited when they heard Wyntor talking about weapons.

"What do you have left in savings?" Wyntor asked as he led them to the next stall.

"In total, about 80,000 credits," Nick said, "but I don't want to spend more than 50,000."

"60,000 credits," Jenny said. 

"If I don't count the Barrier, about 30,000 credits," Trevor said with a bitter smile.

One had to remember that Wyntor had completely paid for Trevor's Barrier.

Wyntor nodded. "Let's try not to go above 50,000 credits per person then. Do you have any preferences for weapons?"

Nick had an uncertain expression. "I want to see what they have to offer first."

"I heard there is something called a gun," Jenny said.

Wyntor nodded. "Yes, they also sell guns."

"What are they, and how do they work?" Jenny asked.

"A gun is a small object that uses an explosion of power to accelerate a small object to such high speeds that the object gains enough force to severely injure someone," Wyntor explained.

"The guns we are going to look at are made of durable metals, and they use Zephyx as a power source. Very expensive guns for powerful Zephyx Extractors are fully made of materials created with Zephyx that shoot other kinds of Zephyx, but these are far beyond your current ability."

"Why do you want to know?" Wyntor asked after explaining everything.

"I heard that I can use guns from far away," Jenny said. "I don't like to admit it, but as a woman, I tend to be physically weaker than most men. Because of that, I want to use something that doesn't rely on my physical strength."

Wyntor nodded. "A rational choice. What about you, Trevor?"

"What do you suggest?" Trevor asked.

"You're pretty big," Wyntor said. "I'm not a fighter, but my instructor told me that when you have an advantage, you should do your best to make the advantage even bigger instead of trying to get everything else to the same level as your advantage."

"If someone is already faster than most people, it takes a significant amount of work to get their power and defense to the same level, and then, it might not be enough to defend from someone with a similar level of power."

"However, if that same person put the work into improving their speed even more, nearly nobody would be able to touch them, making the enemy's speed and power almost meaningless."

"Since you are already pretty big, I would suggest going for a weapon with a long reach. Something like a spear," Wyntor explained.

Trevor fell into thought and nodded a couple of times. "That sounds reasonable. I think I'll follow that advice."

The four of them quickly reached the stall, and Wyntor introduced them to a couple of weapons on display.

Nick could see all manner of weapons.

Swords, daggers, knives, sabers, spears, lances, axes, clubs, guns, bows, explosives, nets, tridents, traps, ropes, chains, whips, rods, everything!

Wyntor helped Trevor first, and the two of them looked at the spears, tridents, lances, and rods.

Since Zephyx Extractors were much more powerful than normal humans, ranged weapons weren't as overpowered anymore.

A normal gun that guards used would only get through Nick's skin, but his muscles would be able to block the bullet. 

Nick would still bleed, but it wouldn't be a dangerous wound.

Even more, an Initial John would only receive a red ring of blood on the spot where the bullet hit them, and Mid Johns would only get a small bruise.

Peak Johns basically didn't care about normal guns anymore.

Because of that, melee weapons became quite relevant again.

Especially when the enemy was fast enough to get to someone before they could properly aim their gun at them.

After a bit of trying around, Trevor went for quite a peculiar weapon.

It was a mixture of a dagger and a spear.

In its base form, it looked like a dagger with a very wide hilt. However, the hilt was made of concentric cones of metal, and when they were extended, they would form the long hilt of a spear.

This allowed Trevor to use it as a dagger but also as a spear.

Sadly, it wasn't as useful as either of them in their respective modes.

The hilt was too heavy and thick for a dagger, and when expanded, the hilt was too thin and hollow to block a significantly powerful attack.

But Trevor still wanted it, and his reason was pretty solid.

Since Trevor was the chosen person for taking up the subtle missions, he needed a weapon that he could hide but also made use of his size.

In the end, Wyntor paid 60,000 credits for the spear, putting Trevor into a debt of 110,000 credits.

However, Wyntor believed in Trevor's ability to repay him, and he was willing to invest in him.

Naturally, Trevor was extremely thankful and promised Wyntor that he would repay him as soon as possible.

Next, Wyntor looked at the guns with Jenny.

There were many different kinds of guns.

Handguns, shotguns, rifles, sniper rifles, assault rifles…

After a lot of talking, Jenny decided to go for a sniper rifle.

Her reasoning was simple.

She wasn't good at fighting, and if she actually got into a fight, she would very likely lose and die.

Because of that, she didn't intend to get into a battle.

Instead, she would stay outside any conflict and support with brutal attacks from a great range.

Jenny never intended to fight someone on her own.

She would rely on Trevor and Nick to protect her while taking care of the most powerful enemies from afar.

In the end, Jenny spent 50,000 credits, and Wyntor also spent 50,000 credits.

But in exchange, Jenny got an amazing sniper rifle.

It was around 150 centimeters long, and it was pure black.

"You are expected to provide for your own teachers," Wyntor told Trevor and Jenny.

Both of them nodded without any complaint.

They had bought their weapons, but they also needed to learn how to use them.

Then, Wyntor looked at Nick, who was looking at the weapons. 

"Made your choice yet?" Wyntor asked.

Nick looked uncomfortable.

"Yes, but…"

"You will think I'm dumb."