Quinn's gaze then shifted from the Shop Screen to the screen of the computer.
'First thing's first,' he thought. 'I've got to sell a few things, so I have some Credits to buy things with in the FIRST PLACE.'
He turned on the computer and went to the online marketplace. As the page loaded, he was prompted to input his military ID. There was a little disclaimer at the bottom of the screen, telling Quinn that his ID wouldn't be recorded, but he needed to prove that he was allowed to access the online marketplace in the first place.
Quinn let out a sigh and input the ID number. In the bar on the computer screen, a long line of asterisks began to appear. Once Quinn was done, he pressed the "enter" key. The bar of asterisks flashed green and vanished. A moment later, it was replaced with a new screen. Like before, this one also had an empty bar.
[Please input your User ID]
'I'll just use my User ID from the game,' Quinn thought, referring to Power Fighters.
He began to type on the computer's keyboard. As he did, the words "Blood Evolver" slowly appeared in the empty bar.
He clicked "enter", and the bar once again flashed green.
The "sign-in" page then vanished, and he was brought to the main screen of the online marketplace.
The online marketplace was set up in the same format as the "online shopping" sites of the old world. In the far right corner of the screen, there was an image that looked like a "shopping cart". Ironically enough, it was the same symbol that was used as the icon for the "Shop" in Tsukuru's System. Slightly overlaying the symbol in its lower-right corner, there was a "0" in a digital font.
There was a long search bar that went across almost a third of the screen, starting in the middle. Written in the bar were the words "Search for anything". Directly underneath the bar, there was a line of tabs, similar to how Quinn's own System was set up.
[Beast Crystals] [Beast Weapons] [Beast Armor] [Beast Accessories] [Ability Books] [Skill Books] [Other]
There were seven tabs in total. Since the marketplace was primarily used to sell Beast Gear and Ability/Skill Books, those took up the first six tabs. With the final tab simply being labeled "other". This was most likely the section where all the miscellaneous items, such as that umbrella, and all those clothes that Layla had brought along when they did their little "tests".
As Quinn clicked on the "Beast Crystals" section, the tab extended downwards, revealing five lines of text going down vertically. It seemed that the Beast Crystals were categorized by Tier, but it only went up to the Emperor-Tier. And honestly, to Quinn, it made perfect sense. After all, who in their right mind would try to sell a piece of Legendary-Tier, Demigod-Tier, or hell, even Demon-Tier equipment?
Quinn then went down the categories. As he clicked on an option, it would bring up a page filled with all the different Crystals people were selling. He noticed that the higher he went in Tier, the smaller the selection would get. After checking all of the Tiers, he came to understand that, much like how each Tier was said to be ten times stronger than the previous one, the prices were ten times as expensive.
Basic-Tier Crystals were 100 Credits, Intermediate-Tier were 1,000, Advanced-Tier were 10,000, and so on. All the way up to 1,000,000 Credits for an Emperor-Tier Crystal.
Next, Quinn checked the "Beast Weapons" section. Much like with the "Beast Crystals" section, the Beast Weapons were separated by Tier. However, they were even further categorized by types of weapons. When he clicked on one of the tiers, a new tab would appear by the side, similar to how Tsukuru's System UI worked, each showing the name of a different type of weapon.
Quinn clicked on the "Gauntlets" option, and the page changed to show a variety of options being sold. The number of options being sold seemed to be quite small, lending credence to Leo's statement about how it was an "uncommon choice".
He then clicked the "back" button and began searching the other Tiers for gauntlets.
As Quinn searched more and more Tiers, he began to notice that the higher up in Tier he went, the more detailed the description. It would tell you what Beast Crystal was used, what boosts it provided, and even if it had a Skill. For example, some of them had a Fire Resistance Skill if the Beast Crystals were from a Beast that lived on a hot Planet, and others had a Cold Resistance if the Beast Crystals were from a Beast on a cold Planet.
"Let me give you a tip," the voice of the blonde-haired man replied. "Place your hand on the computer, and use your Inspect Skill on the options on the page."
Quinn rested his hand on the upper-right corner of the monitor and activated his Inspect Skill while looking at the first option on the page. As he did, he was shocked by the result. He could use the Inspect Skill on every option as if he were using the Skill on them in real life.
"But…how?" Quinn asked.
"The System you are using is itself like a computer," the man explained. "By placing your hand on it, your System is synchronizing with the computer's mainframe. It then takes the information from the computer and translates it into information that you can understand."
There was a pause, and then the man continued.
"However, you can only do this if the Beast Crystals used are in the System's database. Otherwise, you'd need to use the Inspect Skill on the weapon in real life. But I tried my best to put as many different Crystals as possible in there. But there's always the chance that there may be some that I've never seen before."
Using this new information, Quinn then scanned every available set of Gauntlets in the "Intermediate-Tier" category with the Inspect Skill.However, as he did, something surprised him. None of them gave him the same Stat boosts as the set of gauntlets in his System's Shop. At most, they offered him a "+5" to Strength, while the "Best-Standard Intermediate-Tier Gauntlets" in his System's Shop provided a "+6".
The second problem was the prices listed for the gauntlets. They ranged anywhere from 6,000 to 8,000 Credits. This was primarily due to the fact that it also included the cost of getting the Crystals, as well as paying a Forger to make the Beast Weapon for them.
Quinn then glanced to the side.
"Hey, Tsukuru…" he started, but as his gaze turned to Tsukuru, his eyes widened.
Tsukuru's face had a look of deep focus on his face. It looked as though he was staring at something in front of him.
'Is that what I look like when I'm using the System?' Quinn thought.
"Tsukuru!" Quinn called a bit louder.
Instantly, Tsukuru's eyes widened. He snapped his head towards Quinn.
"Huh?" he asked, his concentration now broken. "Do you need something, Quinn?"
Quinn's eyebrow raised in confusion.
"What…what are you doing?" he asked.
"Oh, nothing major," he replied in a nonchalant tone. "When I reached Level 10, and my System AI was unlocked, it kind of…recalibrated my System. I was just checking out all of the changes."
Quinn continued to look at Tsukuru.
"So he's at Level 10 too now, huh?" Quinn thought. "Was it from when he defeated Erin?"
When Erin had been defeated in the Beast Weapon Hall, it had caused a big uproar. As up to that point, she had been undefeated. So, despite him being on the other side of the room when it had happened, Quinn was aware of it.
However, Quinn's eyes then widened, as the last part of Tsukuru's statement registered in his mind.
'Wait…'recalibrated'?!' he thought.
***
Back on Pioletic, Muka turned to Faye.
"C'mon, let's go," she replied.
Despite Faye having only just met this woman and having her own allegiances to the military, Faye felt compelled to follow her.
Muka led Faye out of the shelter and into the wilderness of the planet. Whenever the two of them would run into a Beast, Muka would dispatch it with ease.
She would simply swipe down her hand in much the same way that Faye had seen Lexi's followers do. And just like with them, a line of red aura in the shape of a claw would shoot out, slashing into the beast like a blade, and killing the Beast.
If a Beast was strong enough of a Tier that it would survive the red aura, Muka would then remove one of her gauntlets, and point her finger at the Beast. A strange, red projectilewould shoot out of her fingertip, like the "Water Bullet" Skill that Water Ability Users could use. However, Faye did notice that the finger used for the attack was noticeably damaged by the use. Though, miraculously, Muka's finger would then begin to heal itself on its own.
Seeing this, Faye's eyes widened.
'Does this 'Muka' have a Healing Ability?' Faye thought. 'But then…what were all of those strange attacks she's been using?'