Leveling Up Wives In The Apocalypse

"Let's see what would be the best fit."

Mathew muttered to himself, looking through the assortment of weapons. The collection was impressive enough, yet it wasn't what he was looking for.

'So, where are the spears?' he then wondered, disappointed by the lack of anything that would fit his needs.

At least when it comes to melee weapons, spears were one of those things that would be considered a classic choice. Even though they had several disadvantages compared to other options such as swords or daggers, they still had a handful of benefits that made them useful in some situations.

"There!" Mathew then exclaimed, once his eyes landed on a spear that was placed back a bit further on the rack.

He quickly stepped forward, ready to grab it with both of his hands. But then he stopped in place and stretched out only one hand to touch the spear's wooden shaft.

'Should I?' he wondered for a brief moment before shrugging off the hesitation and simply grabbing the weapon with both of his hands.

Now that he thought about it, there was no point in being afraid of touching things in this realm. After all, even if something bad did happen as a result, who would be harmed by it?

With that in mind, Mathew lifted the spear off the rack and inspected it more closely.

"Hmm," he muttered to himself as he looked at its tip which was made out of obsidian instead of metal like most other spears' tips were. 'I wonder why is that?' he then thought before shaking his head and turning his attention towards other aspects of the weapon.

"This is not bad," he admitted after examining its shaft which was made out of sturdy wood while also being reinforced with thin leather strips wrapped around it tightly.

'I initially wanted a sword or maybe a saber,' Mathew thought, staring at the finely-made weapon in his hand. 'But those are definitely way harder to use than a spear, especially for a novice.'

Mathew then shook his head and raised his eyes towards the usual spot where the shadows of the realm were thickest.

"How much for this spear?" he then asked out loud, too lazy to search through a long list of prices attached to the bottom of the rack where he found the spear.

"A hundred cores," the metallic voice of the merchant replied.

Its tone appeared to be completely empty, devoid of any emotions... Yet, Mathew could feel a hint of annoyance in it.

'I guess asking this kind of question when I can find the answer out myself isn't the best idea,' he thought, gulping down a mouthful of saliva.

If there was anything that Mathew feared in this new world, angering the merchants that enabled him to fight back against the apocalypse was near the top of the list!

'And now that I annoyed it, I guess it's not the best time to try to negotiate the price, isn't it?' Mathew then thought, only to shake his head and turn his eyes back on the spear. "I will take it, then."

The spear in Mathew's hands started to glow. Its shine quickly increased... Only to explode outwards, blinding the young man for a second.

'Damn,' Mathew cursed under his breath. 'I will never get used to it,' he thought, as he rubbed his eyes with his spare hand. Yet, once he opened them back up, he could see what this blinding light attempted to hide.

Because right now, outside of the spear in his hand, Mathew could see its exact replica back where he found the original one in the first place!

"I will test it out and likely come back for more," he announced, ready to leave. Yet, as the young man turned around, his eyes just happened to move past another object that Mathew had a particular interest in. "Oh right, before I go, and I'm sorry for asking in advance," he apologized right in the middle of his sentence, even going as far as to lower his head. "I wish to buy a box with universal food supply."

"That will be further ten cores," the merchant's voice announced, only for a middle-sized cardboard box to appear at Mathew's feet.

"It's a pleasure doing business with you, as always," Mathew said, eager to spare some lip service in hopes of slowly improving the relationship he had with this strange being. "And now, if you could send me back to the real world..."

Mathew hardly had the time to finish his sentence before the shadows started to coil around him, turning the merchant's subspace blurry. It then faded away from Mathew's view, only to reveal the real world back to his eyes.

"Is that it?" Nadia asked, stumbling on her feet when a spear and a box suddenly appeared in Mathew's hand and at his feet respectively.

"I got one to test it out first," Mathew explained, swinging the spear a few times in his hand before passing it over to his first wife. "Also, Carol," he then added, turning his eyes toward the new addition to his harem. He then kicked the box at his feet in the girl's direction. "Suit yourself."

"What's this?" the girl asked, jumping back half a step when the box rolled towards her. She then quickly regained her composure only to step forward and squat down before the box. "A gift? A weapon?" she asked, raising her eyes from the box to Mathew's face.

"You said you were hungry, didn't you?" Mathew said, leaning his head to the side. "Fill your stomach first. I don't want you starving out as a result of investing a shitton of cores into your growth," he advised only to turn his eyes towards Nadia.

"How is it?" he asked, raising his hand and pointing at the weapon the girl was playing around with.

"Pretty good," Nadia reported back, spinning the spear by her right only to suddenly step ahead and lunge forward. She then quickly stepped back, taking the spear for another spin only to stop it right by her side and slam its butt down on the ground. "Light enough even for normal humans, easy to use..." she continued to give her feedback. Nadia then raised her eyes and looked right at Mathew's face only to then gently nod her head. "For a militia, it's a perfect suit," she announced only to pass the weapon back to Mathew's hands.

"I would like to ask Carol for her own input as well," Mathew then muttered, accepting the spear into his own hands only to throw a glance at the girl by their side.

Yet, seeing how Carol greedily ripped apart entire packs of food only to stuff her face with its raw form, Mathew had no heart to force her to stop.

"But that can wait, I guess."