A few seconds after Luke's own announcement, the alarm rang through the cavern again.
"THE GATES ARE NOW CLOSED. YOU MAY NOW EXIT PLEASURE FREELY."
This message repeated 3 times and it was loud enough that Luke and the arena rep had to stop talking while it did.
"Oh good it's over." The young woman said. She looked incredibly relieved and gave out a nervous laugh. "Hahahaha, you were right about it not being long at all."
"They never open for too long." Luke said careful not to give away that he had known beforehand." Until he fully understood the Completionist system he was not planning on letting anyone know what he could do. It wasn't like the ability would be of much help to the people of Pleasure. There was no benefit to knowing when the gates closed. If they had been on the surface it would have been equally as obvious. The giant pillar of light that shot up from the centre of the city would have vanished.
"Now that the gates are closed the tournament should start up again any time now. If you come back in a few hours we can fix your slot."
"Perfect. Thank you." Luke turned to leave, but the woman stopped Luke.
"Wait..... I forgot something. What weapon will you be using in the arena?"
"What do you mean?"
"Sorry, I forgot to explain. While you can't use firearms, you can use other weapons in the rounds against the creatures. We can also provide a blunt version of the weapon in the rounds against other challengers if you don't have one."
"Oh, I don't know. I don't have a weapon of choice."
"You don't have to use one if you don't want to."
"I think I will, can I decide later?"
"Yes, that will be fine, normally we just record it when we pick your slot."
"Okay," Luke responded. He appreciated that she had asked now otherwise it never would have crossed his mind. "In that case is there anywhere I can can buy weapons in Pleasure?"
"Yes, there is one, in this first cavern just across from this stall."
"Thanks."
"Alright, I will be back later." Luke once again turned to leave.
"Ummm excuse...." The young woman started to speak but didn't finish her sentence.
"Is there something else?"
"No nothing don't worry."
Just as the arena rep had said directly opposite there was a small shop that had the very clear and obvious name "DAVE'S WEAPONS SHOP" on a big neon sign. Unlike the stall, it was a proper-sized shop with windows. Pushing open the door a small bell rang.
A shout came from the back of the shop: "Coming!"
Inside the place looked less like Dave's weapon shop and more like Dave's garage. There were boxes and items everywhere. There was so much that it was hard to navigate around the shop. There were all sorts of items that could be used as 'weapons' on the walls and tables, from baseball bats to large frying pans.
"Welcome. Welcome. Thanks for coming." A very short balding man appeared from behind a large stack of boxes, while Luke was looking around.
"Hi, I'm just looking for a weapon for the arena."
"Wonderful. Wonderful. You have come to the right place. Everything you need you can get here at Dave's. And you currently have Dave himself to help! Did you have anything in mind?"
"I'm not sure yet. just looking around." Luke always got awkward in shops when the attendants started to ask him questions like this. Most of the time he just wanted to look around by himself.
"Good. Good. A big strong boy like yourself, how about I show you the special collection over here." The man guided Luke towards the side where there were a few more traditional weapons like swords and spears hung up behind glass cabinets.
"These weapons all look quite....old," Luke said, as he had gotten closer it had become clear that most of the weapons looked tired and some like they were falling apart.
"No. No. They are all fine pieces of craftsmanship." He leaned forward and cupped his hand to his mouth as if whispering a secret, but his voice remained as loud as ever. "Most of these are from the museums. I don't think they will be needing them anymore, Hahahaha. Don't worry they may look old but they are all strong. If they break they come with a money-back guarantee." The man said with a large grin.
That didn't sound like a very good deal to Luke. He was pretty sure, most people who had their weapons break in a fight weren't going to be making it back to exchange them.
"I see. I think I might stick with something newer." Luke replied
"No problem. No problem. May I ask what your budget is?"
"I'm not sure maybe a few hundred tickets?"
"Oh." The smile on the man's face vanished. "Bucket in the corner over there, all 300 tickets." The man called Dave then left Luke as quickly as he had arrived. The change in demeanour came as a bit of a shock but Luke wasn't too bothered.
He went over to the box to check it out. It wasn't an impressive collection there was even a bowler hat in the box which Luke wondered if somebody had just left by mistake.
"I'm feeling generous today. So I will give you some advice." Ava spoke into Luke's head and he was shocked it was very unusual for her to spontaneously give advice and even rarer for her to be generous. "Choose carefully."
"That's it. That's the advice."
"Yes."
"I was hoping for something more like: pick the one on the left because it's secretly a magical blade, which will awaken your true power."
"No, they are all shit."
"Great."
"But still, pick carefully."
Picking carefully was simple in theory, but more challenging in practice. Most of the bucket was full of old tools like hammers and screwdrivers, that Luke couldn't imagine being much use in a proper fight. The rest was mostly junk with sharp ends.
There was just one thing that drew Luke's attention more than anything else. A metal rod that when stood up was a little taller than Luke. Luke figured that at the very least the rod could act like a staff and increase his reach.
The more he thought about it the more he convinced himself that it was the right choice. Pulling it out, it wasn't light, but thanks to his newfound strength it was manageable, he could lift and twirl it with little effort.
"Excuse me, I would like to buy this pole." Luke shouted out to the shop owner who had disappeared into the back of the shop."
"Fine, 300 tickets. You can just leave them on the counter." The man replied from somewhere Luke couldn't see, his voice a monotone drawl.
For just a long piece of metal, the price seemed steep but Luke wasn't interested in bargaining. He placed the tickets down, but as soon as he did the world slowed like it had once before.
*ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED*
[Man-at-Arms] Hidden Silver Achievement unlocked for taking up a trainable weapon for the first time. (System Expansion: Training Zone)
*Weapon Tutorial Start*
As soon as the text appeared Luke found himself in a white space that appeared to stretch out forever.
"The Weapon Tutorial will now commence," Ava announced, their voice was back to being serious like it had been during the other tutorials. "You have selected quarterstaff as your weapon. You can now complete scenarios to improve your skills using this weapon. However, as the Completionist, you must reach proficiency before you may use any other weapons."
"Wait, can't I choose to use a sword or something." Ava, as usual, did not stop their speech and just continued, ignoring Luke. This time Luke only had himself to blame. He was given a warning.
"Weapon Skill can only be earned within this Training Zone. While within the training zone, you can not be killed. But if you fail to complete the scenarios or die, you will lose some of the Weapon Skill you have earn 't. In some cases, you will also receive a penalty that will affect you outside the Training Zone. Additionally, your progress inside the Training Zone will not contribute to achievements outside. Time is slowed while in the training zone but it is not stopped. You will now be put into a tutorial scenario."
With Ava's final words, the white room started to shift and a new scene came into focus. Clutching the metal rod that had suddenly earned the fancy name of 'quarterstaff,' Luke prepared himself for whatever the system was about to throw at him.