Guardians Academy

Cody found himself back in his Personal Space.

"What happened?" he asked, panting heavily.

"You died." Orb supplied. "You will be unable to leave your Personal Space for the next three hours. Would you like a playback of your last few minutes? Professional advice can be sought from Academy instructors for the appropriate fees."

"Notice: You have triggered the First Death Sales Event. Upgrade your equipment at the Shuttle Shoppe now! Selected items up to 30% off!"

"Notice: Mole Serpent Bounty cleared! All participating students receive their share of the Bounty according to contribution. You have been awarded 50 of the available 150 credits."

"Warning: You have triggered the First Death warning. Your settlement and guild will suffer the associated consequences. Every following death you suffer will result in increasingly heavy consequences, possibly including a reduction of grades, detention, being held back a grade, a fine of Academy credits, directed control of classes by teachers, or even expulsion and being blacklisted as someone expelled from the Academy."

"Warning: Your second death will incur a minimum penalty of a 100 credit fine, notification to your teacher in charge, notification to your parents/Guardians, along with standard reduction in settlement security, guild rating, and personal rating. Other penalties including minimum unpaid missions requirement daily and double priced compulsory classes may be imposed, and there is no upper limit to the severity of other death consequences."

Goodness. Was that why Riki was so harried all the time? How many death penalties could he be under at this point?

"Notice: Your reputation in Initial Village SE-T3 has reached 'Cherished' level. You now have the right to buy mission trackers for Initial Village NPCs related to ongoing missions. You now have purchasing access to Tier 3 goods in Initial Village SE-T3 including the Village Special. Missions in Initial Village may offer increased bonuses."

"Village Special?" Cody perked up. "What's the Village Special?"

"Village Special for SE-T3 is the Miner's Hazard Armor Set, listed at 4000cr."

Cody grimaced. "I'm starting to feel really poor here. 50 credits is the biggest income I've ever got, and it would barely make a dent in the price of that Village Special. It's still a lot more than missions get me, though. Are there any more Bounties I could try?"

"The Bounties Available for Initial Village SE-T3 are as follows;

1. Remove Zapper Caterpillars (15 cr each)

2. Catch the Trash Can Bandit (150 cr)

3. Help Trap the Mole Serpent (180 cr)

4. Find and Eliminate Cause of Weed Mutations (400 cr)

Cody paused. "Wait. The Mole Serpent bounty is still available?"

But of course. Riki said as much; there were more than one of those creatures out there.

Furthermore, the one they killed was the one that Farmer Amos was dealing with; that was actually Melinda's and Laila's bounty that Cody and Riki had stumbled upon. In other words, Farmer Andrews' Mole Serpent, that is, Riki's target, was still out there.

Along with, presumably, the missing Farmer Andrew and his wife themselves.

Cody thought for a bit. Now that he knew what they were up against, he actually had a bit more of an advantage the next time he tried the same bounty. The creature he'd just killed had been already injured by bear traps; clearly, traps were effective, except that this late in the bounty, the Mole Serpents had gotten far too strong. They needed better traps. If they could get something even stronger than the bear traps, they should have a better chance with the next Mole Serpent.

Also, the practice sword wasn't going to be enough. They needed better weapons. Even the machete only succeeded because Cody used a Psuche-boosted attack.

"Orb, can I buy a better sword around here?" Cody asked.

"Referencing: Tier 2 goods access. The following swords are currently available for you to purchase at Initial Village SE-T3;

1. 240mm Sushi Sashimi Knife (Cobalt Alloy Steel)

2. Deluxe Grade Chef Knife (45 Layer Damascus)

3. Chomper Cleaver…

"I said, swords, not kitchen knives!" Cody protested.

"Reassessing." There was a short pause. Then, "Swords available to you here are as follows;

1. Trainee Practice Sword – 10cr

2. Stainless Steel Garden Machete – 50cr

3. Hunter's Edge (Butterfly Steel short sword) – 90cr

4. Militia Gladius (Synth Steel short sword) – 120cr

5. Shock Stabber (Electrified short sword) – 220cr

6. Shock Slasher (Electrified long sword) – 300cr

7. Second-hand Guardsman Saber (Energy barrier function – uses power cells) – 330cr

8. Easthill Ancestral Broadsword Replica (Military-grade Plasma Steel, has Energy Barrier function – uses power cells) – 500cr

9. Rusty Great Sword Found In Mine (Unidentified functions) – on Auction, closes in 12:25:19. Current Bid – 511cr

"Okay, stop, stop!" Cody raised both hands. "Just tell me whether anything further is going to be more expensive."

"The list is sorted by order of price." Orb supplied helpfully.

"You may as well just have said that I can't afford anything more than a solid short sword without any functions. That means either the Hunter's Edge or the Militia Gladius." Cody scowled. With only 153 credits in his account, there was no point drooling over better weapons. "What's up with this Butterfly Steel thing?"

"While lacking in durability, Butterfly Steel has the advantage of being lightweight."

"In other words, good for cutting meat or camping out, but not good for a fight." Cody shook his head. "Forget the Hunter's Edge. It looks like the Militia Gladius is my only option. Would it be able to harm the Mole Serpents?"

"The Militia Gladius is categorized at Tier 3. It is a standard provisional armament for all militia volunteers. The Mole Serpent you recently killed is also categorized in the early stages of Tier 2. Thus, the Gladius would be expected to be sufficient on its own merit, not accounting for influencing factors such as the user."

"At least it's a proper weapon, not some gardening tool." Cody muttered.

"Error: the machete you considered a gardening tool is classified as a proper weapon by the Academy VR."

"But the Gladius is a better weapon, right?"

"The Gladius is made of tougher materials and weighs twice as much. Whether that is better or not depends on the user." Orb hesitated, then helpfully supplied, "In any case, the garden machete is categorized as Tier 2, one Tier lower than the Gladius."

"There! That proves it!" Cody decided. "Hey, Orb? Just out of curiosity, what's the best sword in the village?"

"The currently highest rated sword in Initial Village SE-T3 is Crystal's Mod Practice Sword +3, registered as a higher Tier 4 weapon."

"Mod? What's 'mod'?"

"It is short for 'modified'."

"She modified a practice sword?! What does +3 even mean?"

"It means she added three functions to the weapon. The exact functions in question are classified."

Cody paused. He raised his practice sword. "So, in other words, this practice sword in my hand now… can be modified and upgraded until it reaches Tier 4 strength?"

"Correct."

Cody allowed himself a small grin. "Well, then, I'll come back in a few hours and then I'm going to find Crystal and ask her about sword mods."