As the gunfire ceased, an eerie silence fell upon the alley.
The smog from the shot, the smell of burnt metal, and the honking of the city’s traffic drowned out the six gunshots that rang through the night - that nearly ended our lives.
I looked down at the revolver in my hand.
It was ugly.
The metal was scraped, the wood cracked, and there was a slight amount of rust that had found its way to the chamber.
Yet, the System thought otherwise. It thought it had exceptional upgrade potential.
That, however, made me suspicious.
"What’s so great about it?" I asked.
Nyx eyed the revolver, "Nothing."
"Nothing? That’s what you call this?"
"Most people in the lower districts would recognize it."
She examined it up close, "it was made twenty years ago."
I turned it over in my hands. "Then why the hell is its upgrade potential so high?"
Nyx shrugged, "Maybe your System’s lying."
I stared at the weapon. "Would be a disappointment."
The System flashed before my eyes.
[Target: Rusted Revolver]
[Current Condition: 23%]
[Upgrade Potential: Extremely High]
[Available Upgrade: Aether Revolver]
[Cost: 5 points of Upgrade Energy]
My stomach twisted.
I had precisely five points of Upgrade Energy, the exact amount needed to improve the weapon.
It was annoying.
The System wasn’t giving me enough energy to test my skills.
It gave me just enough to make a choice.
I glanced at Nyx. "If I upgrade this, I won’t have any energy left."
She shrugged, "then don’t."
"Is that it? That’s your brilliant plan?"
She holstered her revolver, "You’ve already upgraded my arm, upgraded your body, and fought off Grim Locke. You don’t know what the future has in store, and neither do I. The System already proved to you that it had limited resources. If you spend it all at once, you won’t have anything for later."
On the other hand, if I upgraded the revolver, I would’ve had a better chance to survive.
God, I hated this.
In the past, the worst financial decision I ever made was buying a laptop that I could barely afford. Now, I had to choose between spending my last resource to get a weapon that would potentially save my life. Ugh.
"What’s the Skyport like?" I asked.
Nyx raised a brow at the sudden change of subject. "Crowded."
"Not helpful."
"Dangerous."
"Still not helpful."
She sighed, "It’s where most of the airships come and go from the city."
Her tone darkened, "Security is much tighter than it is here."
I eyed the revolver in my hand. "Then I’ll need this."
Nyx looked at me in confusion. "You’ve already decided, haven’t you?"
"Yeah."
I raised the weapon to the System. "Upgrade."
Blue light shimmered around the revolver as it changed.
Unlike Nyx’s, there was no explosion of energy. Instead, the weapon quietly reformed itself.
Rusty metal fell away as the six-chamber cylinder split and reattached itself with an audible click.
The wood was replaced with dark reinforced metal, and fine copper veins, and a small Aether chamber was attached to its side.
The Aether chamber under the barrel made the weapon feel heavier in my hands and far more intimidating.
[Upgrade successful]
[Rusted Revolver → Aether Revolver]
[Aether Compatibility: 82%]
[Special Function Unlocked: Aether Shot]
I stared at the upgraded weapon in my hands. "Aether Shot?"
Nyx smirked, "Don’t test it here."
I slowly holstered the revolver. "Why? Because I’m in an alley?"
She gestured at the metal wall beside us, "If that thing works the way I think it does, you may want to avoid shooting through things."
I raised a brow at her, "Good to know."
The System pinged again.
[Upgrade Energy: 0%]
I sighed in defeat, " Back to square one, it seems."
Nyx gave a knowing smile, "That’s the price."
I looked at her, "What?"
"You wanted power."
She gestured at my Aether Revolver, "Power always comes at a price."
Her words resonated with me.
It was strange how the System made it all seem so easy.
Upgrade.
Evolve.
Power.
But every single upgrade came at the cost of something else.
Something I had to sacrifice. That I had to earn.
We left the alley before the authorities arrived.
The lower district had changed since I was last here.
Or perhaps, I had changed.
Either way, I saw the city differently than before.
Before, all I saw was filth.
Now, I saw the machines that powered the city.
I saw the massive steam vents that ran along the streets, the small Aether cores in the buildings, the lifts that connected them together, and the vents that released clouds of white vapor into the night sky.
Aetheria was a city of machines, not just of its people.
Even the streetlamps that dotted the streets weren’t normal.
Each one had a crystal in it, with rings of Brass surrounding it.
Every once in a while, the crystal would spark, bathing the street in blue light.
Nyx caught me gazing at it.
"First time seeing Aether technology?"
"Everything is my first time seeing it."
She gave me a strange look, "You really are something else."
"You have no idea."
We eventually arrived at a small building.
It looked like a workshop of some sort.
Nyx pushed open the door, revealing shelves and shelves of old gadgets.
There were large engines, broken pistols, copper wires, Aether crystals, and all sorts of other items scattered across the room. In the corner, there were a few machines I couldn’t even identify.
"This is where you work?" I asked as I looked around the room.
"Sometimes."
I examined the room, "This all belongs to you?"
"Not exactly."
"Then who does it belong to?"
"An old friend of mine."
"Where is he?"
"Dead."
I decided not to press the subject any further. Nyx grabbed a few metal bits off the counter as she approached a workbench.
"We need to prepare before we head to the Skyport."
"For the Skyport?" I asked.
"For everything."
She laid some bullets on the table. I looked at them closely. There were small blue crystals embedded at the tip.
"Enhanced Ammunition?"
"Aether Ammunition," Nyx corrected.
"How much do we have?"
"Too much."
"Of course."
She began loading her revolver, her mechanical arm moving with surprising dexterity. There wasn’t a single sound as she worked. It was almost like watching a real arm move.
"Your gun needs compatible rounds."Sorry."
"Don’t be. I still can’t believe it’s mine."
I gave a small smile, "Does it hurt?"
"No," She paused, "actually, it doesn’t. That’s the strange part."
She looked at me, "I haven’t felt this strong in a while."
I had nothing to say to that, so I simply nodded.
Suddenly, the System pinged beside me,
[Bond development detected]
I blinked in confusion,
"What?"
Nyx looked at me, "What’s wrong?
"Nothing," The System faded away.
I had no idea what it meant by ’bond development.’ I had no idea if I wanted to know what it meant.
Regardless, I didn’t have to think about it for long, because something crashed against the wall outside.
Nyx had her revolver out the moment the sound echoed through the room.
We both stared at the door.
The sound of heavy footsteps grew louder.
Not one person. Several.
Nyx’s face darkened. "They found us."
"Grim?" I asked.
"Possibly," She replied.
I looked down at my Aether Revolver.
It was a decent backup, but it wasn’t much.
The Aether chamber under the barrel glowed with energy.
For once, I didn’t feel completely defenseless.
I stood besides Nyx as she looked at the door.
"How many?" I asked.
She listened for a moment. "Six."
I gave a small smile. "That’s not too bad."
"You’re getting cocky," She remarked.
"Perhaps."
The door finally burst open, revealing six armed men in dark clothing.
Behind them, stood a man in a long black coat, his face hidden behind a metallic mask.
His mechanical eye glowed a eerie red.
Grim Locke.
He looked at me, and then at my new revolver.
"So," He said, his voice deep and rough. "You upgraded the weapon."
I raised my weapon at him. "Yeah."
"Then show me what it can do," Grim smirked.
I pulled back the hammer on my Aether Revolver.
The chamber beneath it began to glow.
Suddenly, I realized something. I had just spent my last five points of energy on this upgrade.
If this weapon failed me now, I would be completely defenseless.