Infinite Skill Devourer
Chapter 53: Joining A Guild VII: Reaper [Kokushibyō]

Chapter 53: Joining A Guild VII: Reaper [Kokushibyō]

Ryuen silently followed Renji out of the office and down a hall that led to a larger elevator.

They stepped inside, and within minutes, they arrived at another section of the building—deep underground.

As soon as the elevator doors beeped and slid open.

A gust of energy rushed out, carrying the distinct scent of new and old metal.

Renji led the way down a narrow flight of stairs.

The walls were lined with glowing blue runes that pulsed with each step they took.

Their footsteps echoed through the vast hall, which was even larger than the training hall Ryuen and Yurei had left earlier.

As they reached the center of the hall, Yurei emerged from a large door.

She was holding a key that glowed faintly in her hands.

Just as she joined them, the walls on all sides of the hall shifted.

Materializing into towering weapon racks lined with thousands of weapons.

Swords lined one wall, bows and arrows another.

Scythes, daggers, throwing blades, spears, chains, and axes were displayed in perfect order.

The Arsenal.

Ryuen quickly noticed that the weapons were arranged.

According to the amount of energy they emitted—ascending from the weakest to the strongest.

The realization brought a small smile to his lips.

He needed a weapon that was both durable and well-suited to his fighting style.

And if he wasn’t careful, he might end up choosing a powerful weapon that was too slow.

Or a fast weapon with low energy output.

His gaze shifted across the arsenal, analyzing the craftsmanship of each weapon.

Every blade was deadly in its own way, but he wasn’t here to admire.

He was here to choose.

Renji stepped forward, gesturing toward the weapon racks.

"Every member of our organization is given unlimited access to the arsenal," he stated.

"Choose the weapon that suits you best."

Ryuen didn’t need to be told twice. "How many can I take?"

"As many as you want."

A smirk formed on Ryuen’s lips as he approached the wall of swords.

The moment he stepped closer, a powerful surge of energy hit him, making the experience even more exhilarating than he had imagined.

He brushed a hand over several blades, avoiding those made of silver.

His fingers hovered over one with a black, light-absorbing blade, reflecting nothing, with a skull engraved near the hilt.

A faint hum drew his attention to a katana emitting an unusual aura.

His fingers stopped on a sword nearly his height—its presence almost commanding.

Smirking, he pulled it from the wall and tossed it toward Renji, where it landed before his feet.

He searched for another sword of similar height and found one with a crimson blade, with designs of flames engraved on it.

He took that as well.

Moving down the row, he ran his hands over several normal-sized swords, seeking a good pair for twin-blade combat.

He found a set. Their energy output wasn’t overwhelming, but it was balanced.

Without hesitation, he took them and added them to his growing selection.

Next, he approached the scythe rack.

Without thinking twice, he picked up two scythes—each with three curved blades.

The moment his hand touched them, glowing rings of runes momentarily hovered around the weapons before fading.

"Nice," he mumbled, adding them to the pile before selecting a third, more traditional scythe.

Then, he turned to the daggers and throwing knives—his personal favorites.

Long and short-ranged blades. Lethal and dangerous in the right hands.

He selected four high-energy daggers, three with lower energy emissions, and a large number of throwing knives—around fifty or fewer.

Finally, he hesitated before approaching the bows and arrows.

Since he wasn’t a bow user.

"Take the two at the top."

Yuki’s voice echoed softly in his mind.

For a split second, he almost mistook it for Yurei’s, but the hushed tone gave it away.

Exhaling, he did as she said.

He picked up a light blue bow, its surface decorated with frost patterns.

The moment his fingers wrapped around it, a familiar chill ran through his body—the same icy sensation he had felt when fighting with Yuki.

Beside it was a plain white bow, which he also grabbed along with the corresponding arrows.

As he added them to the growing pile of weapons, Renji let out a soft chuckle.

Ryuen frowned and glanced at him.

"What?"

He hadn’t done anything that warranted laughter. Not that he knew of.

Spinning on his heels, he turned to see why Renji was chuckling, but instead of an answer, Renji simply smirked and stepped forward.

"It’s nothing," Renji replied to Ryuen’s unspoken question and smiled.

"Would you take a horse or move on foot?"

"We’re going through a dungeon, so no."

Ryuen didn’t need time to think—he already knew the route they would be taking.

Why use transportation in a dungeon when the sole purpose of taking one was to shorten the distance between places?

Even if it was dangerous.

"You made an excellent choice, to be honest," Renji smirked, patting Ryuen on the shoulder. "A lot, but great choices."

"Thank you... I guess."

Ryuen replied with a hint of awkwardness in his voice.

He quietly shifted away from Renji, as the air around him made him uncomfortable.

Not in a bad way, but there was something off about being too close to him.

Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on.

Renji, however, realized that the number of weapons Ryuen had chosen would be a hassle to carry and wondered if he would leave some behind.

Ryuen, on the other hand, simply snapped his fingers without them noticing, and all the weapons vanished—leaving nothing behind.

Not even a speck.

At that moment, a system screen popped up in front of him with a notification.

[66 weapons have been added to the inventory.]

He smiled in satisfaction and relief.

With his weapons secured, he turned back to Renji.

"Anything else?" he asked, eager to get home and prepare for his journey the next day.

Renji simply shook his head and crossed his arms over his chest.

"We will mail your documents and identification cards to your apartment before tomorrow."

"Sure," Ryuen replied, giving a short bow before making his way out of the hall.

He didn’t wait for Yurei—he already knew his way out and needed to leave as fast as possible.

But then, Renji called him back, causing Ryuen to glance at him with a glare.

"Yes?"

"What guild are you joining?"

"I still have to pick one?"

"Yes, you do."

Ryuen exhaled and ran a hand through his hair. "I don’t really know."

He turned around fully. "Are there any in need of members?"

"Yes," Yurei answered before Renji. "The Reapers need three more members."

"We were hoping to find our next candidate—a beast tamer. Well, a dragon tamer," she paused and exhaled.

"That makes two. We need two more."

Ryuen shrugged. "I won’t mind, and maybe I could help with your final candidate."

"Oh? Who do you suggest?"

"I’m not sure for now, but I’ll let you know," he replied, and she nodded in response.

"Alright, Miss Shinigami, Mister Tsukiyama, have a wonderful evening."

For the final time, Ryuen bowed and vanished behind the closing elevator doors.